Something Unexpected
by Raven BlackRose21
Summary: What happens when Harry finds out that his mother is adopted? And that some of his family from her side are alive? What will take place when some of our favorite Naruto characters find themselves taking a mission to guard a bunch of teenage wizards? Read to find out. (Not sure If I will have pairings or not, will be decided later on) (On Hiatus)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys so here i am again attempting to write another story. Ugh I hate writers block anyways. As always, comments/reviews/messages are encouraged.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter**

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It was late and the half-moon shone brightly over the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had been three weeks since summer vacation had started, yet in one of the tallest towers a small meeting of three was being held. Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk in his office and across from him sat the Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall beside her, Severus Snape Potions Master. To say that Albus looked stressed, was an understatement, no it was more than that, with what he had found upon entering a certain vault earlier that week, he was rather feeling his age for once.

"Are you sure about this Albus?" Minerva questioned.

"I am sure Minerva. Sirius requested I get him a few things from his vault. When it was opened, I found Lily and James lost will. When confronted, Sirius had no idea that it was there."

"So what does this mean? Has it been read?" Albus nodded solemnly. "It has. And in light of what has been found, we have to remove Harry from the care of Petunia, immediately."

"What for? What about the blood wards Albus?" Sighing softly Albus sat back in his chair, his gaze lingering on the two professors in front of him. How did something like this be missed for this long? "It appears that Petunia is not related to Lily by blood, in fact Lily was adopted as a baby." He spoke this quickly yet softly as he held out a piece of parchment to the duo. Minerva took it from him, her eyes sweeping over it before looking at the man.

"If this is real then Harry isn't safe there. Have you taken action? Sent someone to retrieve him?" Minerva asked. Albus held up a hand. "I have already informed Moody as well as Remus, they should be about ready to leave to retrieve Harry. There is a few other things that came to light."

"Such as?" Severus questioned, not that he particularly cared.

"Well, we can get Sirius' name cleared. Both James and Lily left their memories of the night that they changed the secret keeper to Peter Pettigrew. Why? I do not know, maybe they felt that something was amiss and did so as a precaution? However that does not matter, with the memories given to Amelia Bones, I have been able to get Sirius the trial he was never able to receive, the trial will take place in three days. Amelia Bones will be the one to question Sirius, she will also be the one to request that he be given Veritaserum and will most likely want to view his memory of the day that he had gotten arrested."

"So you think he will be set free then?" Minerva questioned. To which Albus just simply nodded. "With him being a free man, Harry will have the option of moving in with Sirius and having the life he has always dreamed of." Scowling Severus sat back and crossed his arms, he was not looking forward to dealing with the insufferable brat after a summer spent with the mutt.

"Is there anything else Albus?" Minerva questioned feeling as if the man had not told them everything.

"There is actually. Not only did Lily leave the will, her memories, and adoption papers, she also left the names of her real parents as well as her siblings and any of their children." Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Albus pulled out another piece of parchment and handed it to Minerva before continuing. "Her real mother's name was Yuriko Suzuki, her brother one Yashamaru Suzuki and her sister being Karura Suzuki who married Rasa Kato, who then had three children of their own. Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. Her sister died after giving birth to Gaara, her brother died a few years later and her brother-in-law died years later as well after he went missing."

Taking a moment to let the information sink in, he fiddled with the papers in front of him before he continued, not giving the other two the opportunity to ask any questions. "The reason she was put up for adoption was never brought to light. However, this leaves Harry with three cousins who I am sure he would love to meet."

"I see. Do you know where they are then? Harry's cousins I mean." Minerva asked.

"I do. I am sure you both remember the alliance that the wizarding world has with the Elemental Nations?" They both nodded in acknowledgement. "It just so happens that Gaara is the current Kazekage of Suna."

"Kazekage? Isn't that the leader of one of the villages?" Minerva asked, her eyebrows scrunched up in thought.

"It is. Meaning that he is a powerful Shinobi." Albus replied as he sat forward once again. He folded his hands in front of him on his desk. "There is more though, I also found two letters within the envelope of the will." His eyes landed on Severus.

"Severus, the letters are addressed to you." He held out the pieces of folded parchment to Severus. The potion's master scowled but took the parchment from the older man and tucked them inside his robes to read later. Apart of him felt apprehensive, another part of him felt hopeful, not that he would show it to anyone. No he instead kept his scowl visible, not betraying anything that he was currently feeling as he listened to the conversation between Minerva and Albus.

"Albus are you crazy? Hiring shinobi? What for, there is no place safer than Hogwarts, we both know this."

"I agree Minerva but with the Ministry and Daily Prophet slandering Harry's name as well as my own, it leaves Voldermort to do as he wishes. I would not put it above him to try to trick Harry in some way to get him outside the safety of Hogwarts. Not to mention the time that he will be exposed in public while transporting from one place to another. I doubt Tom would actually try anything but I would much rather be safe than sorry. He will be in the safety of Headquarter's and will be accompanied to the train station by member's of the Order, but once on the train, he will be alone until he reaches Hogsmeade where I will have guards posted."

"I have written to both Gaara and the current Hokage of Konoha requesting a meeting in which I will explain the job I have for them. I am certain that once I tell Gaara of his relation to Harry, he will be more than willing to send some of his ninja to protect him."

"I see." Sighing Minerva nodded. "Well if this is what you think is best, then who am I to argue? You out of all of us know more about the Shinobi, what with your friendship to the Third Hokage." Albus chukled. "Yes well, I can assure you that whoever is sent will not only be able to fit in with the student population but will be able to protect Harry as well as the rest of the school in case something were to happen. I just hope that I am not wrong about their willingness to work with us."

"Is that all you needed us for Albus?" Severus questioned as he stood up, bored of the conversation already.

"It is. I shall inform you both once I have received confirmation of a meeting with the two Kage as well as when Sirius is presented as a free man."

"How thoughtful of you Albus." Severus sneered before turning around and walking quickly out of the man's office, his robe swishing behind him. He was already beginning to dread the upcoming school year, and it was only the beginning of summer vacation. He quickly descended the steps leading from the Headmaster's office and walked brusquely through the school to the dungeons where his own personal quarter's could be found.

* * *

The day had started out as any other for one Harry Potter. He woke up to his aunt banging on his door yelling at him to start breakfast where he would watch as his relatives would eat before giving him whatever was remaining, which normally wasn't very much. He then was given a list of chores to do that day with the normal threat of no dinner if he were to skip any of them on the list.

He had just finished the last of his chores an hour before and had been lounging in his room to await dinner as usual when he heard a knock on the front door. Though he was curious as to who had come to call, he knew better than to try and find out so instead he stayed sprawled out on his bed, completely bored.

"Hello, may I help you?" Petunia asked before she registered who exactly was standing on her doorstep. With her eyes narrowed she closed the door halfway. "What do you want? If you've come for Harry make it quick otherwise get off my doorstep." Remus rolled his eyes as he stepped forward.

"Petunia if you would please let us in your home, there are some things that must be discussed privately before we can extract Harry from your home."

"Absolutely not! You are not going to step foot into my home!" Petunia shrilled earning herself a glare from Mad-eye who simply ignored the woman and pushed his way through. "If I were you, I would call Harry down here so we can get this over with." Remus stated simply as he followed in behind Mad-eye who was then followed by Tonks.

Anger showed clearly on her face as she quickly closed the front door after checking to make sure that none of her neighbors had seen her unexpected visitors. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and hollered for the boy to get downstairs immediately before making her way into the sitting room to find that her husband was standing nose to nose with that Moody person who they had briefly been introduced to at the beginning of the summer. It was clear that they had exchanged some words but neither had backed down from the other. Sighing softly she placed her hand on Vernon's arm. "Vernon dear they will be removing Harry as soon as they are through here."

"The sooner the better." Vernon muttered as he finally decided to step away from the other man and instead pulled Petunia down onto the couch next to him, thankful that Dudley had not returned home as of yet. A few minutes later Harry entered the room only to stop as his eyes landed on the three older wizards.

"Remus? Moody? What are you guys doing here?"

"We are here to escort you to Headquarter's for the remainder of the summer of course." Remus replied as he engulfed the teenager in a brief hug. "You mean I'm leaving?" Harry asked not being able to help the smile that spread across his face.

"You are but first there are a few things we need to discuss with these two." Moody stated nodding toward the Dursleys. "Tonks go help Harry pack his belongings, make sure to grab everything that belongs to him."

"On it Moody, come on Harry, show me your room yeah?" Tonks said brightly. Harry looked confused but agreed quickly. Once Moody ensured that Harry was busy packing, he turned his gaze back to the two sitting on the sofa. He remained quiet however, allowing Remus to be the one to speak up. "Petunia, were you aware that your sister was adopted?"

A look of shock crossed Petunia's face briefly before turning into a look of confusion. "I did not actually. How do you know?"

"Lily and James' will was found a few days ago, in the envelope was the adoption papers as well as instructions as to what they wanted done if they were to ever pass on. It seems that, Lily was adopted by your parents when you were merely two years old and her a baby. Meaning, Harry is not blood related to you, therefore has no protection while within these walls."

"If Lily was adopted and he has no protection here, then why has he been returning here every summer since he started at that place?" Petunia asked snidely.

"The answer is simple from what Albus has told us. Lily had done something to ensure that any blood wards put into place if Harry was left with you, would remain so until their will had been read. Since it has now been found and read, the blood wards have dropped. I am unsure as to what she did exactly but now that they are gone, Harry is not safe here. He will be staying at a secret location until he returns to Hogwarts in September. Arrangements will be made during the year as to where he will end up for every summer until he graduates. Therefore you will no longer have to worry about taking him into your home after tonight."

It was at this moment before either Vernon or Petunia could speak up that Tonks returned with Harry, his trunk and Hedwig in tow. "All packed Moody." Tonks said brightly.

"Good let's move out." He stated as he made his way out of the sitting room and to the front door. "The quicker we leave the sooner we can get Mr. Potter to safety.

" Remus was the only who had remained behind a thoughtful expression on his face. "Before I go, might I suggest you pack up your family and leave? The blood wards had not only protected Harry but you and your family as well Petunia. Now that they are no longer in play, it might be safer if you were to move. Otherwise, the Dark Lord will come looking for Harry. I would think you know enough about your sister's world and death to know that you all are endanger regardless of Harry being here or not." With that he simply turned and left, leaving both Vernon and Petunia sitting in silence.

Once he joined the other's outside on the sidewalk, he quickly grabbed Harry's arm and disappeared using side-along-apparation. They reappeared in a small park across a row of houses in the middle of London, motioning for Harry to be quiet, Remus took out a piece of paper and instructed him to read it and memorize it. Once done Harry handed the paper back to Remus who promptly set it aflame before motioning Harry to follow him and told him to repeat what he had read in his mind only. Harry looked up in amazement as Number Twelve appeared as they drew closer to the house. Remus then ushered Harry inside promising all will be explained once they were settled in the kitchen and Moody and Tonks had arrived.

* * *

Five minutes after Harry had been ushered inside, he found himself surrounded in the kitchen by the Weasley gang, Hermione, his godfather Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Moody. Smiles were reflected on every face as Harry had been hugged by the group of people before Molly hollered for everyone to calm down. Once the noise level had dropped, Harry turned his attention to Remus.

"Remus you promised to explain things to me. What's going on? I mean normally I am left at the Dursley's for the majority of summer vacation. Don't get me wrong I am glad that I do not have to be there any longer than I already was, but still.." He let his voice trail off as Remus and Sirius exchanged knowing smiles.

"Which shall we tell him first Moony?" Sirius questioned a small smirk playing at his lips. Chuckling Remus nodded for Sirius to go ahead, he knew that his friend was anxious to tell Harry his good news first. Harry as well as the other children turned their attention to Sirius. "I am being summoned to the Ministry in three days Harry."

"What? How come?" Harry questioned as worry seeped into the pit of his stomach. "You are being hunted by every Auror that is employed by the Ministry, why would they summon you?"

"Calm down pup." Sirius smirked. "I am being summoned to appear in front of the Wizengamot. I am finally getting a proper trial."

"Your kidding? What if you get sent back to Azkaban?" Harry questioned, a frown forming.

"Don't worry so much pup, I will be set free. That I can promise you. Amelia Bones who is in charge of the Law Enforcement Department will be the one questioning me, I have already been informed I am to allow them to view my memories of that day, as well as to testify under the influence of Veritaserum. I have no doubt that I will be a free man come the weekend." He smiled brightly at Harry who couldn't help but return the smile, though a part of him still worried.

Remus placed his hand on Harry's arm. "There is more news cub, the reason we extracted you from the Dursleys is because of this." Remus reached in his robes and extracted an envelope before handing it over to Harry. Unsure of what it could be, Harry grabbed the envelope and opened it, withdrawing a folded piece of parchment. He opened it and began to read his eyes growing a tad bit wider with every word he read.

 _Harry,_

 _My wonderful amazing child. If you are reading this, it is because we have been betrayed by Peter who we made the secret-keeper of our location and have been killed by none other than the Dark Lord himself. I trust Peter and am sure that he wouldn't do it willingly mind you, but just in case he does give up our location (again I doubt it would be of his own free will) I was able to set up some safety measures. It also means that our will that we had hidden in Sirius' vault has been found and read. It also means that the truth about Petunia and my relationship has come to light. You see Harry, Petunia and I are not related by blood, I was adopted as a baby. I do not know why I was adopted, nor do I care. This just means that you are not safe with them, in the case that you have to be placed with them, I have found a way to ensure that any wards that may be set in place are to be kept as so until the time that our will is read. Normally you would have been summoned to the reading of the will (provided that you survive shall our safe house be compromised) but because I suspect that the Dark Lord will not die so easily, I left a letter stating that you are to be kept wherever you are placed until the reading had taken place to ensure that you are safe._

 _I apologize for this Harry, I will always place your safety above anything else and I hope that those around you will do the same. You are probably wondering if you have any family aside from Petunia, the answer is yes. My parents sent me my adoption papers over 6 months ago and I was able to track down my mother's family before we were sent into hiding. From what I have been able to gather, you have three cousin's as well as two uncle's that are alive Harry. I know that you would prefer to live with Sirius if he is a free man by the time you read this, but I implore you to at least meet and get to know our family. Get to know them, something that I wish every day that I could do._

 _I know in my heart that you will grow to be a strong kind-hearted teenager/man and I know that you will do whatever it takes to protect those around you. I also know that you will probably spend many nights wishing that you could know what it feels like to have us around, that is if we are found and we don't make it and you do. Just know that we will die doing what love, protecting you. Your father and I love you so much Harry, keep whatever friends you make close. They will be there for you when you need them the most. Keep your head up sweetheart, you are stronger than you may think._

 _Love Always,_

 _Lily_

By the time Harry had finished reading, he was crying silently. Not just because his mother had written him a letter but also because he had family, blood family that he could find and meet. He was also free from having to go back to that house where he had suffered and nearly starved to death since he was little. He felt a bunch of different emotions as he sat rereading the letter, one of the only links he had to his mother. A small smile appeared as he wiped away his tears, his heart feeling a tad bit lighter with the knowledge that his mother's letter had given him. He had a family and he had the option to live with Sirius once he was free. He looked up and met his godfather's eyes, a look of understanding passed between them. As soon as he could, Harry would do whatever it took to find his mother's family and meet them, he only hoped that when he did, they would accept him.

The rest of the night was spent in celebration, a small party was thrown in light of Harry's freedom from having to return to the Durselys. Laughter filled the kitchen as the group mingled, the twins even set off a few of their famous prank items earning a telling off by their mother.

As Harry lay in bed later that night, he couldn't help but smile. Maybe, just maybe life would be better for him from here on out, and maybe just maybe he could finally start living despite what the Daily Prophet and Ministry was saying about him and Dumbledore.

As those last few thoughts floated through his mind, he rolled over and allowed himself to give into the exhaustion he felt from a long and eventful night.

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 **Hey guys! Soooo I decided to go ahead and finish this chapter tonight. Now to answer some questions that may or may not pop up due to this chapter.**

 **This story is taking place two years after the fourth great ninja war and is taking place in harry's fifth year. I know that in the books he defends himself against Dementors in front of Dudley and is tried for the use of underage magic, but seriously what is the fun in that? So therefore I have completely extracted that from the story. Instead I am going to make Sirius a free man, I personally dislike how he was sent off to Azkaban without a fair trial.**

 **If some of you are wondering why I did not have harry find out who his mother's family is in her letter, it is because I would rather have him meet them face to face.**

 **Also here is a list of Harry's mother's Blood family.**

 **Real Mother- Yuriko Suzuki**

 **Brother-Yashamaru Suzuki**

 **Sister-Karura Suzuki**

 **Brother-in-law- Rasa Kato**

 **Nephew's- Kankuro and Gaara Kato**

 **Niece- Temari Kato**

 **Lily's Real Name-Sayuri Suzuki**

 **I wanted to put this list so nobody get's confused on who is who. Also, I picked Sayuri is because it means "small lily." It is broken down like this. (In Japanese (Sa) means small and in Japanese Kanji (Yuri) means Lily.) I wanted a name that could be linked to her being called Lily by her adoptive parents. Pretty neat right? haha just kidding.**

 **Anyways, if you are wondering what is in Snape's letters, well you will have to read it in the next chapter. I will end my mindless rambling for now. I look forward to hearing from all of you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I want to thank those who have already fav'd/followed/commented. I look forward to hearing from each of you! Now then onto the chapter :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or HP**

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It had been three days since the meeting, three days since he had taken the letters addressed to him and yet he had not been able to open them. Severus Snape, Potion's Master at Hogwarts School of Withcraft and Wizardry found himself sitting in a chair in his personal quarters. A glass of red wine in one hand, the folded up letters in the other. Sighing he set the glass down and turned the first letter over, he had put reading them off for long enough.

Taking a deep breath he opened it and began reading it.

 _Severus,_

 _I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write to you. I know that things ended up bad between us and I wanted to let you know that I forgive you for calling me what you did. I should have forgiven you sooner. If you are reading this, then you know what happened. Sev, promise me that you will protect Harry if he somehow ends up living, protect him as if he was your own. I know it may be unfair of me to ask this of you, with the way I have ignored you and your every attempt to apologize to me but please Sev, do this for me. I have left something for you in our will, once you have read this letter, go to Albus. He will know what it is and will give it to you. I never hated you Sev, even if I was mad, you was my first true friend, the one who introduced me to the world of magic. How could I hate you? I am truly sorry for not being there for you and walking away like I did, maybe things would have ended up differently if I had forgiven you sooner. Anyways, I can hear James moving around downstairs, we both have grown restless since we have been locked away for protection. I hope we live through this war, I love you Sev. I always will._

 _Always,_

 _Lily_

Tears streamed down Severus' face as he reread the letter. She had forgiven him and what's more, she never hated him. Taking a deep breath he unsealed and opened the other letter and began to read it.

 _Severus,_

 _It may come as a shock to you, hearing from me. I wanted to apologize for how I treated you while in school. I realize now that I was a stuck-up conceded foolish child. I guess I was jealous, jealous of your relationship to Lily. It was because of me that you lost her and for that, I am deeply and truly sorry. Lily explained to me after we graduated, the life you had growing up, I should have never been as cruel to you as I was. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. If we make it through this war, I hope that we can become friends. If not and Harry somehow makes it, please make sure he is taken care of. I know that Sirius will probably do something stupid if our location is compromised, if that happens I would like it if you would find a way to keep Harry from going to Petunia's, she hates anything that has to do with magic, something I am sure you are more than aware of than even I am._

 _Severus, please forgive me. I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you. I have left you something in our will as well. If we don't make it through this, please take it and see it for what it is. A peace offering. Nobody deserves being treated how I treated you. There is one other thing that I would like to tell you. Lily and I have talked and, we would like to name you as Harry's second Godfather. I know that in the wizarding world it is unheard of for someone to have two Godfather's but it is not however in the muggle world. I also know you are probably wondering how can we make this decision when we have been on opposite sides of this war, the answer is simple. I know that you are not the man that you let everyone think you are, despite our rocky past I know that if given the option, you will protect Harry. You are a good man Severus, I just wish that I had seen that while at Hogwarts. I am placing my trust in you. I must go now. Go see Albus if you have read this. He will give you what Lily and I have left for you as well as the paperwork stating you as a Harry's second Godfather._

 _I am truly sorry Severus._

 _With hope,_

 _James_

To say that Severus was shocked, barely touched what he was feeling. Not only had Lily apologized but James, the person who made his life at school a living hell, had apologized as well, also they both left something for him in their will. His eyes fell upon the letter once more, his eyes easily picking out a certain line. _Lily and I have talked and we would like to name you as Harry's second Godfather._ Godfather? Really? He slumped back into his chair, the letters held in his hand, his wine sat forgotten as he lost himself in thought.

He was conflicted. On the one hand, a part of him said to forgive James, the other part said not to. However he could tell in the letter that James really was sorry. As for Lily telling James of his childhood, he was upset yes but he couldn't help but think that she only did so to get James to realize that what he had done while in his school was uncalled for. All Severus had ever wanted was an apology from the man and to be forgive by Lily. Now? Years after their deaths, he had exactly that. Could he forgive them? Yes, yes he could. The moment he decided that he forgave and accepted the apologies, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off of him. His heart felt lighter and he could see what he needed to do to change the way things had ended up. He would do everything in his power to protect Harry and change the way he was towards the boy, after all it wasn't his fault, none of it was.

The rest of the night, he didn't move, he didn't eat or drink, he didn't even sleep. His mind was to occupied with what needed to be done, by morning he had formed a plan. The way he had treated Harry the last four years, it was nearly unforgivable.

As he showered and dressed, he hoped that the child would give him the chance to make it right, give him the chance to be there and to teach him what he could so he would survive this war, even if he himself didn't make it.

The first thing he had to do though, was make a stop someplace, a place that he had avoided at all costs over the years.

* * *

Three days had passed since Albus had written to both Kage's requesting a meeting with them and telling them that he would be arriving in Konoha. He now stood in the Hokage's office, facing four shinobi. "Welcome Dumbledore-san, it's been awhile." Kakashi stood up as Albus walked to the front of his desk. A smile and a handshake between the two did not go unnoticed by the others present. "It has Kakashi. Hokage now? That is truly an amazing feat."

"Thanks. I hadn't exactly planned to be Hokage but y'know, things happened and well here I am." Kakashi replied a sheepish look playing across what features of his face that was not hidden by the mask that he wore. Turning his attention to the other's in the room, Kakashi introduced Dumbledore to Gaara and his siblings.

"Ah Lord Kazekage. It is a privilege to meet you and an honor to meet you both as well Konkuro, Temari." Smiling, Albus then took the seat that he was offered. "Now that introductions are out of the way, what is the meaning of your letter's Albus? You spoke of a mission?" Kakashi cut to the point causing Albus to chuckle before growing serious himself.

"Yes I did. The mission will entail the protection of a couple of our Gryffindor students, particularly a child named Harry Potter. I of course wish to make sure the rest of our students that attend our school will be safe as well, therefore the Shinobi that you send, if you so choose to, will be splitting their attention between Harry, and the rest of the school."

"I see. Why exactly are you wanting to hiring shinobi? I know you are capable of protecting your students Albus. Lord Third spoke highly of you." The statement caused a fond smile to appear on Albus' for a brief moment before answering the question.

"I may be capable but the truth is, fifteen years ago, our world was in a war with the worst kind of wizard you could come across. He was defeated by Harry at the age of one, our world celebrated. After all, the Dark Lord had been defeated, though I feared it was only temporary, I feared that he would come back to power somehow and my fear became a reality last year. He has returned and is targeting Harry, that is why I am asking for you both to send some of your best ninja to protect him and the school."

"I take it this will be a year long mission then?" Albus nodded, his eyes drifting from Kakashi to Gaara and his two siblings. He could easily see the resemblance however small, Harry was related to the three that sat in front of him. "There is something else." Albus stated, his eyes meeting Kakashi's.

"Such as?" Kakashi questioned.

"Is this room secure?"

"It is."

"Would mind if I added a few of my own to ensure that nobody can overhear?" Kakashi quickly gave him the go ahead, standing Albus took out his wand and muttered a few incantations before he was satisfied and sat back down in the chair that he had previously evacuated.

"What is it Albus? Whatever it is must be serious enough for you to add your own wards."

"It is Kakashi." Albus stated his eyes landing on Gaara once again. "Lord Kazekage, how much do you know of your mother's family?"

"Next to nothing why?" Temari asked before Gaara could.

"Are you three aware that your mother and uncle had another sister?" Dumbledore questioned as he withdrew an envelope from within his robes.

"What are you talking about? Our father and uncle never mentioned anything like that to us before they passed." Kankuro simply stated as he narrowed his eyes.

"I was afraid of that." Albus said sighing. He then opened the pieces of parchment that he had brought with him and held them out to Gaara as he started talking. "You had an aunt who was put up for adoption when she was a baby. I do not know why but her name was Sayuri Suzuki. She was sent to the outside world and placed in an orphanage where she was adopted by a couple with the last name of Evans. Due to her adoption, her name was changed to Lily Evans, at an early age she showed signs of having magic and at the age of eleven she started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where she met and later on after graduating, married James Potter."

He stopped to let that information sink in as the three each took turns reading over the documents he had brought with him. He watched as their faces turned from shock to confusion. "From what you can see, Harry is related to you. That stack of parchment is proof. It may seem that I am telling you this only for you to agree to send some of your shinobi for protection but that is far from the truth." Gaara had now taken to studying the old man that sat in front of him.

"Harry was never meant to be placed with Petunia. His parent's will was never read, nobody knew where it was up until last week when it was found in Harry's godfather's vault. Upon reading the will and the other documents that were found within the envelope, the adoption as well as what was to be done with Harry in case of their deaths. I have taken it upon myself to have Harry removed from Petunia's household and he is currently spending the rest of his summer at a secure location. Harry was supposed to be sent to live with his godfather, the other option should his godfather prove to not be able to care for Harry, was to be sent to live with your family instead." He stopped to take another breath before continuing.

"His Godfather is able to care for him now but I was hoping that you would be willing to spend some time with him over the summer at least. He was mistreated while in the care of Petunia and her family, he grew up not knowing the love of a family." At this he faltered for Gaara had sat up and leaned forward, his eyes flashing dangerously as an aurora of killing intent filled the small office. He took a moment to calm himself down before he spoke.

"I want to meet Harry, therefore the three of us will take the mission, I refuse to allow a family member to be left alone without the proper protection." The simple yet powerful statement left no room for argument. Yes he was Kazekage, yes technically he should not be leaving the village on a mission, especially a year-long mission but who was to stop him? If this Dark Lord was anything like Madara had been, he knew that Harry would need him. He refused to leave his cousin without the proper protection, and he refused to let someone else do the job. No, Temari, Kankuro and himself would suffice for this mission.

"Thank you Lord Gaara. I am sure that you will not regret it." Albus then turned his attention to Kakashi. "Kakashi are you wiling to send three shinobi as well?" Kakashi who had been silent over the last several minutes, sat up and smiled slightly. "I will send three of my best Albus, if only because of the relation between Potter-san and Lord Gaara. I will have them ready to go in a week's time. We can discuss transportation among other things over dinner tonight, how does that sound?"

"Sounds excellent. Here is the primary students I would like to be protected as well as one or two that I wish for the guards to keep an eye on over the course of the school year."

"Thank you. We will look over this thoroughly and I will decide what shinobi I will send, in the meantime I am sure you had a long journey. Why don't you rest before dinner?"

"Thank you Kakashi, I think I will take you up on that offer. I am not as young as I used to be." Chuckling Albus stood and after taking down the wards he had placed up, he headed for the door before stopping and turning to look at the four that remained sitting. "I must head home tomorrow, there are a few other urgent things that will require my attention, including informing the Order of our agreement."

"I will have a contract drawn up before dinner, we will dine in here so we can go over any details that we may have missed and the three of us will sign it. We shall see you later tonight Albus." Kakashi stated as Albus nodded once and left through the door. Sighing he sat back in his chair, his eyes landing on Gaara.

"Gaara what are your thoughts about all this?"

"I think he better hope that Harry is unharmed by the time we arrive." Gaara's eyes had not left the door in which Albus left through as he continued. "We will return home ourselves tomorrow to pack and to tend to a few things that will need taken care of before we can leave. We will then arrive two days from tomorrow. The sooner we are all prepared and are able to leave, the better."

Temari and Kankuro shared a knowing smile. Ever since Gaara had become friends with Naruto, his whole personality had changed including his drive to protect his family. Family meant everything to him now and he would kill to protect those he was related to or he considered family.

* * *

 **Hey guys so I think Im done writing this chapter.** **I apologize if this chapter is kind of all over the place, I promise i will go through it tomorrow and try to make it better. I wanted to point out something that was brought to my attention.**

 **Yes I realize that technically each Kage would normally not leave their village for a year-long mission. However, I would like to point out that this story takes place after the Fourth Great Ninja War, almost a year to be exact. Peace among the villages is strong, therefore Gaara will be able to leave the village. I do not plan on having anything dire happen in his absence because this story does not take place in the ninja world minus the meeting and the departure scene (possibly some other things should I so choose) No it is based mainly in the HP world.**

 **Also, I know it may seem out-of-character for Snape to so easily accept James' apology and his new role as Harry's second godfather, and I know that cannon snape would be furious that Lily had told James' of his childhood but seeing as this is NOT cannon (Though there will be some cannon scene's to a point) I will write Snape in a different light. During the cannon story he is made to seem like a complete heartless bastard until the very end where we find out that he wasn't. In this Story I want to bring out his compassionate and caring side more than just the few glimpses that we caught in the actual story. That does not mean he still won't be the sarcastic arse that we all know and love, it just won't be ALL the time. :P**

 **Anyways, now that is cleared up I do hope that the updates to this chapter makes all of you like it even more. :) As always please feel free to send me a message with your opinion's of this chapter or even leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from all of you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! I can't believe how many favs and follows this story has already! Thank you all so much for following/faving it! It means so much to me. Anyways so I went back and updated ch 1 and ch 2, I saw there were some minor errors that needed addressing and it has been done so. If there are anymore please let me know so I can fix them. Now then onto the chapter 3.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

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That evening Albus entered the Hokage's office to find not only the four shinobi from earlier but also four others standing or sitting in the office. The majority of them sat at table that had been set up in the middle of the room with various food already waiting. "Hello Albus, glad you could join us, I hope you rested well?" Kakashi spoke up from where he was sitting behind his desk. Albus could tell that he seemed a bit apprehensive though he wasn't entirely sure why.

"I did. I appreciate the chance you gave me. I actually spent quite a bit of time wandering the village, it has been so long since I have been here."

"You know that isn't what I meant by resting right?" Kakashi chuckled his eyes twinkling in amusement.

"I do but I find that exploring something you haven't in awhile tends to leave one more rested than actually resting." Albus' eyes twinkled with mirth as he looked at the rest of the shinobi, his eyes settling on a yellow-haired shinobi who was sitting next to Gaara. "You must be Naruto, it is an honor to meet you." To say that Naruto was shocked that this strange man in front of him knew him was an understatement.

"How do you know my name old man?!" Naruto asked immediately going on the defensive.

"Simple, Sarutobi told of you in some of the letters he sent to me many years ago."

"You knew jiji?"

Albus nodded before taking a seat himself. "I did we were friends for many years. He always spoke very highly of you as well as his wish for you to grow to be an outstanding shinobi. I take it that his wishes came true?"

Kakashi laughed at this drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "That is an understatement Albus, Naruto is somewhat of a celebrity among the Four Great Nations. His ability to always somehow draw the best out in people and always sticking to his beliefs changed the shinobi world as we know it and furthermore made the peace that we all fought so hard and long for possible. That is why he is one of the shinobi I have assigned to this mission. I have assembled a team of four instead of three."

"Four?" Albus questioned, not that he was complaining, the more shinobi the better that Harry would be protected.

"Yes, you have Naruto who is the Jonin captain of his team, then you have Sakura who is the medic, then you have Shikamaru Nara one of the best strategist that Konoha has to offer and last but not least this is Haruki Yamato, he is a retired ANBU and someone that I trust. I wish for him to go along and help out in anyway that he can, he is one of the most talented shinobi that we have here in Konoha, his skills will prove useful that I can promise, with team that I have assembled, fulfilling the mission requirements will be easy for them even if they have to fight this Dark Lord you spoke of."

Albus had taken the time to study each of the shinobi as they were named off. Naruto had on black pants, an orange and black short-sleeved shirt and the standard shinobi sandals. Albus also noticed that his entire right arm was banaged, he couldn't help but wonder what had caused it but decided to push the thought to the side. Sakura had pink hair and was currently wearing a red sleeveless shirt and white shorts, she also adorned the standard shinobi sandals. Shikamaru had black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, had silver earrings and wore what Albus assumed was his normal shinobi attire for missions, a black long-sleeved shirt with a green vest over the top, he also had on black pants and shinobi sandals, he had various pouches strapped to his waist and one on each of his thighs which Albus figured contained the various ninja tools that he knew were used in combat.

The third man, Yamato, also wore the standard shinobi getup, only difference was he wore a brown long-sleeve under his green vest and had brown hair. He also had headgear that lined his face, that could possibly present a problem if he refused to take it off, pushing that thought to the side for later discussion, Albus noticed that each wore their Hitai-ate's in a different style, though you could see each of them clearly. "Perfect. I appreciate it Kakashi. I think I know of a position that will be perfect for Yamato-san as well as everyone else of course. I am hoping that nothing will go amiss this year but with how active the other side is already, I fear that may not be the case unfortunately." Albus sighed.

"We will discuss it further after we eat. I have the contract drawn up but I wish to make sure we go over things we did not get the chance to earlier." Kakashi stated as he stood before walking around his desk and taking his place beside Gaara. "Come sit everyone so we can eat then discuss the mission." At Kakashi's prompting the others that had not been sitting already, joined the party at the table. They gave their thanks for the food then dug in, silence reigning throughout the office.

Knowing that the conversation after they ate would be a very serious one, the group decided to enjoy their supper, so instead light conversation and laughter could be heard throughout the office. Once it seemed that everyone was mostly done eating, Kakashi cleared his throat. "So Albus, what is the positions that you spoke of earlier?"

Albus sat up a little straighter, an air of leadership coming off him. He was used to being put in such a position, the expectant looks of those surrounding him gave him the confirmation that everyone present was ready to hear what they would have to do within the halls of Hogwarts while on this mission.

"It is simple really. Seeing how everyone but Yamato are close enough in age with the three primary students, I wish for the six of you to pretend to be fifth year students at the school, this means that keeping your identities a secret from everyone except for those that are currently in the Order and are staying where Harry is. As for Yamato? I will have it set up for you to be an assistant to our Care of Magical Creatures Professor. I will tell the school board that you are doing research of sorts for a book, featuring our school, of course I will tell them that you will involve the other subjects but your main goal would be our Care of Magical Creatures class. Seeing how most of the classes will be outside you will have free reign to do what you need to do to gather Intel as well as to enforce the wards that are already in place around the school for extra security, that is if you wish to. If not then you are more than welcome to just stand as a guard with the other Aurors that I will have stationed in Hogsmead." Albus finished in a matter of fact kind of way causing some of those present to raise one or even both of their eyebrows.

"I think I can manage assisting the professor. After all it would be better if I was within the grounds of your school in case anything was to happen." Yamato spoke briefly yet confidentially. He did not know what to expect at this school of magic after all, no it would be better if he was able to be close in case he was needed.

"Excellent. I will make sure the school board is aware as soon as I can." His eyes then shifted to land on the other six that would be present on the mission. "Now then, as for pretending to be students. I will inform the school board that we will have six transfer students this year, it is my wish to have you all be in the same house as Harry, though I think it might raise some questions so instead, I wish for three of you to be in his house and the other three to choose one of the other three houses as your own, there are four houses total."

"What do you mean by houses old man?" Naruto spoke up cutting off Albus earning himself a slap on the back of the head from Kakashi. Chuckling Albus pulled out some more parchment from his robes. "I am glad you asked. The houses are as follows." He passed the pieces of parchment out, each containing the traits of the four houses.

"We have Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. As you can see, Gryffindor values bravery, daring, nerve and chivalry, Hufflepuff values hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty and fair play, Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge, and wit and last Slytherin values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness. Based upon the traits that each house values, I leave it up to the six of you to decide which you would prefer to be in." Albus paused letting the six decide, after a few moments of silence, Gaara spoke up, his eyes landing on Albus.

"I will be in Harry's house, I will guard him personally." The statement once again left no room for argument.

"As much as I would like to be able to guard Harry alongside Gaara, I think I will choose Ravenclaw. One of the students you wish us to keep an eye is in that house." Temari said looking up at Albus who nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'll join Gaara, y'know." Naruto stated smiling, he had already looked over the intel of the students they were to be guarding and he felt kin towards Harry, and felt that he would be able to help the boy in areas that no-one could, they were both orphans after all.

"That leaves Kankuro, Sakura, and Shikamaru." Kakashi said eyeing the three remaining shinobi.

"I would like to be in Gryffindor with my brother and Naruto." Kankuro spoke quickly.

"Then I would like to be in Hufflepuff." Sakura stated. "I know the meaning of hard work, and besides, even though there are not any students that are on the immediate guarding list, I am sure that I can do some good within the house."

"That leaves me. What a drag." Shikamaru sighed as he looked down at the parchment. "I guess I would be better off in Ravenclaw as well." All eyes turned to Albus.

"Will this suffice Albus? I know that you gave us Intel on a Draco Malfoy student to watch, even though it states he is in Slytherin, it won't be hard for these six to watch him."

"I have no complaints. I would have chosen the same if it would have been my decision, besides Malfoy is not the type to allow just anyone in his inner circle. No the choices that you all have made will do just fine. I shall warn you though, you will have to keep your abilities a secret as well."

"How come old man? It's not like they can do anything if we don't y'know." Naruto stated a slight pout adorning his face. Though he had grown up and had gotten to be a powerful shinobi, he was still the same old goofy Naruto.

"Simple. I fear the Ministry is planning on interfering in Hogwarts this year. If you were to expose your abilities, it will cause you six to stand out from the other students and it would put the mission at risk." Albus stated, all traces of amusement was gone and in it's place a seriousness that not even Kakashi was aware that he could have given the way he chose to dress.

"If you wish them to act as a normal student they will do that, though I am unsure of how that will be possible. We use chakra and you use magic Albus, we use our hands and ninja tools, you use a wand." Kakashi spoke up, he looked confused. Sure he knew all about magic and how wizards used wands to channel it but how would that effect the shinobi? As far as he knew, they were very different and couldn't possibly be used the same way...could they?

"Actually, Chakra and Magic are not that different from each other. Both Chakra and Magic are life energy, though magic is a tad wilder than chakra and not as easy to control the concept is the same, you will be able to manipulate the chakra that you all have to make it manifest through a wand. It may seem silly at first but you all will have plenty of time to practice once you arrive at the secure location. I will have someone take you all to obtain your wands once you are all settled, until then we will tell anyone who asks that your school focuses on using wandless magic instead."

"So basically you are saying that we should have no trouble blending in?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Precisely. There is also another matter we must address. Uniforms, I am unable to change the rules allowing you all to wear what you normally would during a mission so unfortunately you will have to adorn our school uniforms. It will be another factor in helping you all blend in, you will each get a list of school supplies in mid-August, I will be funding your supplies myself so you will not have to worry about paying for any of it. Also, you will have to wear your regular clothing while outside of headqheadquarters, so anytime you go to leave just make sure that you are dressed appropriately. That does not mean that you can't pack your ninja gear. I encourage it if only as a precaution. I do not know if anything will happen to cause the need to use it but it is better to be safe."

"That sounds reasonable Albus, what about transportation?" Kakashi questioned.

"I will create a portkey to bring you all to London. It will be the easiest and safest way to travel from here to there without being detected. I wish for nobody but the Order to know where you all really come from, though it is easier to speak half-truth if questioned. As for getting to Hogwarts, you will take the train along with the rest of the students, except for Yamato-san, I will have Minerva bring you to the school roughly a week before the students are due to arrive, it will give you plenty of time to get use to the grounds."

"Sounds fair." Yamato nodded in agreement. "What of my attire? Will I be required to wear something similar to you?"

"I am afraid so, that includes taking off your headgear while at Hogwarts, if it isn't a problem?" Albus ended it in a question, not wanting to offend the man in anyway.

"It won't be a problem, I will keep it on until then." Yamato once again agreed quickly.

"Excellent. I believe that is all that I wished to go over, is there anything that I missed Kakashi?"

"What about Gaara, Temari and Kankuro's relationship to Harry? Is that to be kept a secret as well?"

Albus was quiet as he mulled it over, his eyes studying the three. "From the rest of the school yes. I do not recommend keeping the relationship hidden from Harry himself. He does not trust easily as it is, if something like this was to be kept from him, I think it would do more harm than good. No I think he should be informed as well as everyone that is in the Order, the less secrets we have between us the more effectively we can work together."

"Then that is all we had to go over Albus. " Kakashi stated as he stood up. He walked over to his desk and picked up a piece of parchment. "This is the contract. If you would go over it then sign it, we can end this meeting and each go on our own way." Albus accepted the contract from Kakashi and after thoroughly going over it making sure that everything they had covered earlier as well as just now was in it in some shape or form, he signed it satisfied.

"I will send you payment for the mission once I return to London."

"No need. We will not take payment until after the mission is complete. It is the shinobi way." Kakashi stated as he took to sitting behind his desk once more.

"If that is what you wish Kakashi, I will respect it. If there is not anything else, I bid you all goodnight. I will return four days from tomorrow at noon to escort you all to London."

"Very well Albus. Until then, safe travels my friend." Kakashi nodded once more then watched as Albus left the office. At some point during the meeting, tension had formed within the room, he could feel it as he sighed allowing himself to relax slightly. He then turned his attention to the seven other's in front of him. "What do you all think?"

"I have a feeling that this mission will prove interesting. I also think that Dumbledore-san is not telling us everything." Shikamaru stated.

"I was getting that feeling as well. There is more to this than what he has let on. I want you all to carry this mission to the best of your abilities." Kakashi eyed the four leaf shinobi. "I want no mistakes and if possible, see if you can't find out what Albus isn't telling us."

"Aye Lord Sixth. We will do what we can."

"Good. You are dismissed. I will see you all in four days, rest, pack and be ready to go." The four bowed before bidding Gaara, Temari, Kakashi and Kankuro goodnight and leaving the office. Once they were gone he turned his attention to the remaining three.

"Will you three be alright? I know this must come as a shock to each of you."

"We are alright. If anything I am excited to meet our cousin." Temari said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Do not do anything to embarrass him Temari. We should go. We have to return home by early morning." Gaara stated standing. "Thank you for your hospitality Kakashi, we will return in three days."

"It is no trouble Gaara. I look forward to our villages working together again." Kakashi stood as well holding out his hand. Gaara smirked and grasped it shaking it once. "I do as well."

The three Sand Ninja then bid goodbye and left leaving Kakashi to ponder over the mission. Would it really be alright sending seven ninja? What was it that Albus was hiding? Sighing he decided to push the worrysome thoughts to the back of his mind for now. He still had paperwork he had to get done before retiring to bed himself.

Though he couldn't help but have a gut feeling that something was going to go wrong this year, whether it turned out to be a blessing or a curse would remain to be seen. Not that he spent to much energy on the thought, after all those three were very talented, two being apart of the new Legendary Sannin that had formed because of the war and Yamato had served on his ANBU team at one point, so he knew the man's abilities. So even if something went wrong, he knew that everything would turn out alright.

The only thing he could do as he set about finishing his work was to put his faith and trust in the Shinobi that he had chosen.

* * *

"Harry it's time. I will be back." Sirius said as he stepped into the kitchen. Today he was going to the Ministry of Magic to present himself in front of the Wizengamot to clear his name.

"I wish I could go with you Sirius." Harry said as a frown appeared on his face. He was more than a little upset that he was being made to stay at Headquarter's while Sirius and Remus went to Sirius' trial. He understood why he had to but that did not make him any happier.

"I know pup but we will be back before you know it. I will be a free man and we can be a proper family. So chin up." Sirius smiled as he engulfed Harry in a hug. After he broke the hug and stepped back, he looked around at everyone who had come to wish him luck. "See you all in a little while." He turned and left the kitchen with Remus in tow, it took everything Harry had not to go running off after him. He knew it was silly but he couldn't help it, he wanted to be there for his Godfather, the man who had made it his mission to show Harry what it felt like to have a father figure around.

Sighing he plopped down in the nearest chair and laid his head on the table. It sucked not being able to do anything. Molly looked his way briefly, concern showing in her eyes. "Harry why don't you come help me make Sirius a cake?"

"A cake?" Harry questioned opening his eyes and looking at Mrs. Weasley.

"That's right, a cake. After all there is no way that they can find him guilty. Tonight we will be celebrating Sirius' freedom. So up, let's get to it. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George you can help by cleaning the kitchen and putting up decorations." The five groaned but did as they were asked to do meanwhile Harry got up to help make a cake. To be honest he was thankful for having something to do, otherwise he would just mope around until they returned.

Soon laughter could be heard floating up from the kitchen. Everyone had their tasks and went about them with an air of giddyness. After all a party was to be held in honor of Sirius that night and everyone currently present knew to some degree what it meant to Harry to have his godfather free.

The group was so involved with what they were doing, that they did not realize that someone had let himself into the house and had followed the laughter to the kitchen. He stood there a small smile playing on his lips as his eyes swept over the inhabitants until they landed on Harry. He walked over to where Harry was busy mixing the cake batter and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Potter may I have a word with you?" His sudden appearance made Harry and Molly both jump. It also earned him glares from the rest of the group. Molly being quick to recover gave Severus a small smile.

"Hello Severus, I wasn't aware that you were supposed to drop by today and what could you possibly want with Harry?"

"I wasn't. I am not due to give Albus a report until he get's back. As for what I need to speak to Potter about, it is a private matter. Though if he wishes to tell everyone else afterwards, he may do so."

"If I am allowed to tell everyone then why not just talk about it in here?" Harry questioned.

"I would rather not have anyone put their two cents in while we are discussing it. If you would meet me in the sitting room, I would appreciate it." Severus turned and left the kitchen not giving anyone a chance to reply. He hoped that Harry would follow him, they had a few things that needed discussing and the sooner he could get it over with, the better he'd feel."

Groaning Harry looked to Molly. "Do I have to go talk to him?"

"I think you should Harry, it seems to be rather important." Molly gave him a smile and pushed on his back lightly. Sighing Harry followed after the man. It took him no time at all to climb the first set of stairs and enter the sitting room. It was not the first time that he had been in the sitting room since he had arrived at headquarters, yet he still found himself in awe. It had a homey feel to it, a set of black leather chairs could be found sitting in front of a white fireplace, a deep green rug underneath. Along the walls where bookshelves filled with all kinds of books ranging from the 18th century to current times as well as different languages and other subjects. In the middle of the room sat a glass top black coffee table with black leather couches set on either side with yet another green rug underneath. On the side opposite the fireplace sat a mahogany wood desk with a black suede desk chair. The huge windows that sat between the bookshelves let in soft light giving the overall feel of the room a very relaxing atmosphere.

He found Severus standing at one of the windows, his back to him with his arms folded across his chest. It took him but a moment to take in the appearance of the potion's master. He of course had his usual black robes on, and his hair hung straight. He felt a tad uneasy but decided to just get through whatever the man wanted as quickly as he could. Sighing softly he closed the door, alerting the older man to his presence.

Turning Severus nodded once towards the chairs speaking softly as he did so. "Mr. Potter please come have a seat so we can talk." Harry grudgingly obeyed and sat in one of the chairs, with Severus sitting in the one opposite of him. "What did you need to talk to me about professor?"

"I am unsure of how to put this but..." Closing his eyes for a moment Severus gathered his thoughts before he opened them and looked at Harry. "I wanted to apologize for the way I have treated you over the last four years." The shocked look on Harry's face at his apologizing was expected, after all it was unusual for him to apologize for anything, even if he was in the wrong.

"Why are you apologizing?" Harry asked his eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

Instead of answering right away, Severus reached in his robe and pulled out two folded pieces of parchment and held them out to Harry. "Read them. What you find will answer your question." He then sat back and said nothing more as Harry opened up the first letter. He knew it was Lily's by the reaction that the teen had. Once done Harry looked up at the potion's master. "She forgave you." It wasn't a question but a statement. Severus nodded then motioned for Harry to read the second letter.

He expected the child to throw a fit once he saw that his parent's had named himself as Harry's second godfather, so it came as a surprise to him that Harry looked at him with nothing more than shock once he had finished reading James' letter. Silence engulfed them, Severus giving Harry time to adjust to what he had just read. He knew that it would take a lot for Harry to forgive him but he secretly hoped that he would. After what seemed like hours Harry finally spoke. "Godfather? My parents named you as my second godfather? I didn't even know there was such a thing."

"I was not aware of that myself let alone did I believe what I had read until I found these laying on my desk in my quarters, apparently Albus decided to leave them for me to find instead of waiting for me to go to him as Lily instructed." He withdrew some more folded pieces of parchment from his robes as he spoke and handed them over to Harry who opened them and preceded to read them, his eyes growing wide with every detail.

Severus was unsure of how Harry would react to seeing the proof for himself. Strangely enough when Harry looked up at him from the document, there was none of the normal hatred in his gaze. Instead there was curiosity. Harry placed the document on the arm of the chair before turning his attention to Severus again.

"I accept your apology professor." Severus felt relieved.

"So what now?" Harry asked a small smile forming at the relief that Severus showed.

"Honestly? I am not sure. I have spent so much time over the last four years putting you down and comparing you to your father that I barely know who you are, every time I looked at you I saw James." Severus frowned slightly as he realized just how unfair he had been to Harry.

"Well how about we start over? We have time right now don't we? I mean you don't have anything urgent to do right now do you?" Harry asked.

"Not at the moment I don't."

"Well then." Harry sat up straighter and stuck out his hand. "Hello Professor, I'm Harry Potter, I like Quidditch, spending time with my friends and helping Fred and George with their joke products, I dislike bullies and being put in the spotlight for any reason."

Smirking Severus grabbed Harry's hand. "Hello Harry I'm Severus Snape, Potion's Master at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I like potions. You may call me Severus."

"Wait you mean it? I can call you by your first name?" Harry asked his eyes wide in disbelief as he dropped Severus' hand.

"I do. Only outside of school though, actually we need to discuss that as well. Though things are different as far as our relationship to each other, we will have to keep up the appearance that we hate and loath each other unless in private."

"Why though? There isn't anyway for it to get back to the other side is there?" Harry questioned.

"That is the thing, if we do not keep up appearances then Draco will report it back to Lucius who will report it back to The Dark Lord. Are you aware that I am a spy for Albus,?"

Harry frowned. "No I did not actually, I don't know about a lot of the stuff going on."

Quirking an eyebrow slightly Severus returned the frown. "I see well now you do and because of that, I must act as if nothing has changed between us once we return to school. However, if you so choose we can have a "remedial potions" lesson every week. We can spend time getting to know each other of course you could always brew potions as well."

"I don't mind. We can do both, I haven't always liked Potion's but I know I need to be good enough to be able to become an Auror once I graduate."

"Then it is settled. I will teach you how to brew even the most complicated potion's until you get it right." Severus smiled at the excitement that showed in the teenager's eyes at that.

"Will you come around this summer as well? I mean, it's going to take some getting used to but I would like to have a chance to build a relationship with you even before we get back to school." Harry smiled a little sheepishly as he said this. Severus returned the smile.

"I promise I will come around as much as I can. Also, I will need to try to get along with Sirius. After all, we both are your godfather's, it wouldn't be good if we can't stop going at each other's throat, though it may take some time for me to be able to get fully get along with him."

"I would like that. Though he is just as much at fault, he will need to try just as hard."

"True. Well shall we rejoin the others then? I know you will want to tell them and as I said before, it is perfectly okay for you to do so." Harry thought about it for a moment.

"Can we just stay here? At least for a little bit? I mean I just found out your my godfather, I kind of don't want to tell anyone just yet." Severus smiled a little at that. The fact that Harry wanted to spend time with him instead of running off to be with his friends, filled his heart with a warmth that he had not felt in quite a long time.

"Sure Harry. How about I spend this time we have together sharing my memories of Lily? I know how badly you want to know her." Harry's face and eyes brightened at that as he nodded causing Severus to chuckle. They then got comfortable and Severus started sharing the stories of his time with Lily. That is how they spent the afternoon, Harry listening intently to Severus talk of his mother asking questions when he had one with Severus answering them an amused glint in his eyes. They were so caught up in the tales that neither registered that Molly had poked her head in at one point to check on them smiling as she took in the scene before her, or that Kreacher had appeared with sandwiches and butter beer for lunch.

What they did realize was that as they sat talking and laughing, a bond had started to form between them, one that they both hoped would strengthen and last through the upcoming war.

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 **Heyyyy guys! So chapter 3 is finished. I want to thank each and everyone of you who have fav'd/followed and commented so far. I also want to take the time to apologize if the previous two chapters were lacking any character descriptions, it has never been one of my strong suits but I will try to do better in the upcoming chapters. I also hope that I put enough detail in this chapter as well.**

 **I will be including most of what happened in the fifth book/movie but will change it up some to fit the idea that I have.**

 **I have updated the last three chapters and will work on chapter four tomorrow and friday, I am hoping to have it completed AND edited/revised sometime Friday afternoon so I can post it. Again I hope you all like the new changes and if I by chance missed fixing a previous error, please tell me about it so I can go back and fix it. Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing from you guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! So as promised here is chapter 4 but before I get to writing it...I HAVE GOTTEN 96 FOLLOWS! AND 56 FAVS! I can't thank each and everyone one of you enough for liking my story enough that you have decided to follow/fav it. I will promise to try to live up to each and everyone of your expectations and produce an amazing story!**

 **I will be making an announcement at the end of this chapter so please make sure to read the Author's Note! Anywho, onto the chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own either HP or Naruto (sadly)**

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"Harry?" Molly poked her head into the sitting room to find that Harry and Severus was in an animated conversation about something or another. Smiling softly she opened the door wider, earning the gazes of both males sitting in front of the fire.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked politely.

"You best come down to the kitchen, Remus just sent a message via his patronus, him and Sirius are on the way back." Molly smiled even more at the evident relief that had shown in her adoptive child's eyes. Yes, she knew that Harry was not her's legally or by blood but that did not stop her from seeing him as her own child, after all, he had never known the love of a mother and though she did not plan on replacing Lily, she couldn't help but mother Harry like she did her own children.

Harry smiled mischievously as his eyes switched back to the man before him. "You will stay right Severus? I mean now is the perfect time to tell Sirius and for you two to start trying not to kill each other." The look on Severus' face made him look like he had just swallowed something bitter tasting.

"Does it have to be tonight? Would you rather not just celebrate the mu...I mean Black's freedom without giving him cause to try and murder me?" Severus had questioned him. Harry tried as hard as he could to act like he was thinking really hard about the question but that failed almost immediately as Severus scowled. He knew then that Harry wanted to get it over with immediately, even if the only reason was because he was rather excited(which was a shock in itself) that his former most hated professor at school was now his other godfather. Sighing Severus ran a calloused hand over his face. "Alright alright I will stay and attend the party but YOU have to be the one to break it to Black."

"Fair enough." Harry replied quickly another small smile forming, the mischievous glint in his bright green eyes had not gone unnoticed by the Potion's master. Molly had looked on with curiosity at the exchange, and at Severus' stopping himself from referring to Sirius as he usually did, a mutt. She knew that in the few short hours that the two of them had been in here, something had changed between them. Not to long ago, the two hated each other with a passion but now they conversed as if they were the best of friends and the way that Severus gave into the younger man's wishes was astonishing, never in all the time she had known him had she witnessed Severus agree so quickly to something unless of course it was Albus asking and even then Severus had put up a fight on some things. Deciding that it might be better to remind the two of her presence, she withdrew from her musings.

"What is it that you have to tell Sirius that might cause him to kill Severus Harry?" Her questioning gaze held a glint that stated she wanted the truth. Smirking ever so slightly Harry stood and walked over to her holding out a piece of paper to her which she took. They watched, with abated breath as she read her eyes growing slightly wider than normal before leveling Severus with a serious look. "I see, well as it is official, I can't say much except that if I find out that you betray or hurt Harry in anyway, you will have to answer me Severus. Is that clear?"

Harry chuckled in amusement which earned him a slight glare from Severus before the older man turned back to Molly. "I promise I will not intentionally harm him Molly." She eyed him suspiciously for a few moment's before deciding that he was being sincere, nodding in approval she handed the paper back to Harry.

"Good, they should be arriving at any moment, you best be there when Sirius walks in Harry, you know how much of a worry-some man he is." Harry nodded before turning back to the other man.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be Harry." Severus stood and after a small nod in acknowledgement, he followed the pair out of the sitting room and down the stairs to the first floor landing. There he stopped a moment, straightening his robes and plastering a bored look on his face before descending the steps to the kitchen. As he entered he took note of the seething glares the Weasley gang was sending him and the calculating yet soft gaze of Hermione Granger. He met her gaze briefly before taking to standing in the furthermost corner he could and leaning back against it, not wanting to really be bothered by any of them, save for Harry and Molly.

He watched as Harry chatted happily with his friends, as Molly requested the help of Ginny and Hermione to set the food and refreshments on the table. It seemed as if they were going to have a full house for the celebratory party in light of Sirius' freedom if the amount of food was anything to go by. Though he did not particularly like the man, he knew that he would have to suffer through it for the sake of his newfound bond with Harry. The minutes leading up to the arrival of the Black heir was antagonizing so he took to staring about the kitchen.

When he had arrived earlier, the small group had been attempting to hang decorations for the occasion, there had been such a mess that he had merely smirked rolling his eyes. Now? They had successfully hung a banner that said "Congratulations Sirius". The words were gold while the banner itself was red. There was a red and gold tablecloth that ran the length of the table, party hats of all sorts of colors as well as twinkling lights that hung from the walls. It was very Gryffindorish, almost suffocating as a matter of fact but Severus knew Molly must have helped them, otherwise he was sure that they would have overdone it on the Gryffindor decorations.

His eyes took in the way that everything was drawn together by the two-tier cake with red icing that sat in the middle of the table. Granted it wasn't elegant by any means, something he was thankful for, he absolutely despised big flashy parties. He definitely preferred small intimate gatherings, something he refused to admit out loud. He found himself relaxing slightly as he took it all in, that is until the kitchen door burst open, Remus entered followed by Sirius Black whose smile seemed to light up the entire room as his eyes quickly sought out Harry.

"I'M FREE!" He hollared as he swept Harry into a hug. Laughter and cheers rang out among the group as they bombarded Sirius, each trying to hug him. Even Severus felt a tad bit relieved that the man had been cleared off all charges, not that he would admit it to anyone.

He took a swig of his butterbeer as he took to watching the scene unfold, he made himself nearly disappear into the shadows of the corner he had been standing in, glad that everyone was willing to overlook his presence. He hoped he would make it through the night without being noticed, something that became impossible when Sirius caught sight of him.

His eyes narrowed and he lips turned into a scowl. "What are YOU doing here Snevillous?"

"None of your business Black." Snape quickly retorted a scowl already present. He missed the look that Harry had sent him.

"As this is MY house I think I have a right to know." Sneering Sirius eyed the other man, loathing clear in his brown eyes.

"Sirius? Can we talk for a moment?" Harry had placed a hand on his arm drawing his attention.

"Sure pup." Came the reply as he allowed Harry to pull him out of the kitchen and up to the first floor landing. Severus knew what Harry was about to do. He sighed as he laid his head back against the wall closing his eyes unaware of the golden brown eyes staring at him.

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"What is is pup?" Sirius asked as Harry pulled him into the drawing room. He always disliked being in there, the tapestry of his family reminding him of the Black's obsession with pureblood's. Harry walked over to look out the window as he gathered his thoughts leaving Sirius standing in the middle of the room. After a few moments of silence, Harry turned to look at his godfather.

"Sirius I want you to try and get along with Snape."

"What? Why in bloody hell would I do that. You know we loathe each other!" Sirius exclaimed a look of utter disbelief on his face. Sighing Harry withdrew some folded up pieces of parchment from his pocket. "It's because things are different now Sirius. Not only with you being a free man, that in and of itself is a reason, I mean what if Dumbledore sends you two on an assignment for the Order? How can you two work effectively if you are always at each other's throats?"

Sirius looked at Harry, his eyes traveled down to the pieces of parchment his godson was holding before he looked back up to meet the brilliant green eyes that reminded him so much of Lily. "You have a point. Though it's not enough to warrant me getting along with him."

"Well maybe this will be reason enough then." Harry stated as he held out the papers to Sirius. His green eyes held a hopeful look in them as Sirius took the papers and opened them. Harry had arranged them in such a way that Sirius would have to read the letters first, he purposely placed his mother's on top. He watched as Sirius read Lily's then moved onto James. Harry knew that his godfather's reaction would be one of outrage, in a way he couldn't blame him. His best friend who was like a brother to him, had named the person he hated the most aside from Voldemort as his own son's secondary godfather. That was why it came as no surprise to him when Sirius yelled out.

"WHAT?! THIS HAS GOT TO BE A JOKE! GODFATHER?! THEY NAMED HIM AS YOUR SECOND GODFATHER?!" Harry had been hoping to keep it from the other's for now but knowing they would have had to hear Sirius' voice with how loud he yelled, he would have to do some damage control once they returned to the kitchen.

"I was shocked to when I read it."

"Your parents had to have been mad! I mean I'm glad to see that Prongs was willing to apologize and make amends but naming him as one of your godfather's? What were they playing at! He is the reason they had to go into hiding in the first place!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he is overheard the prophecy! He told The Dark Lord about it!" Harry looked shocked for a moment. "What?"

"You heard what I said pup, he is the reason they had to go into hiding." Sirius looked pissed. How could his best friend do this to him? What were they thinking? How could they have possibly thought that this would be a good idea? Snape was one of the Dark Lord's loyal followers, even if he did claim that he was spy for Albus, Sirius did not trust him. He brought out of his musings by Harry.

"Wait what prophecy?" Harry asked curious. The look on Sirius face told him that he wasn't supposed to know. Sighing the animagus ran a hand through his hair. "You wasn't supposed to know, the reason that The Dark Lord targeted your family is because of a prophecy that Professor Trelawny spoke when she had her interview with Albus. They were unaware that he was listening in. He heard about half from what Albus said but it was enough to take back to the Dark Lord."

Harry looked shocked. "So is that the weapon that you all were speaking of the other night? The one that Voldemort wants but can't get?"

Sirius nodded. "I don't want you telling anyone, not even Ron and Hermione you hear me? You weren't supposed to know, I was against keeping it from you but Albus felt it was better so you were protected."

"That's bonkers Sirius! I have a right to know!" Harry said his anger welling up inside of him. Sirius saw this and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know pup, don't worry we are doing everything we can to make sure the other side doesn't get their hands on it. You don't need to worry yourself with it okay? Let us handle it."

Harry nodded reluctantly. "Fine. I won't do or say anything."

"Good. Now about this Snape thing." Sirius stated as he eyed the third piece of parchment, the document showing that it was legal.

"Sirius look, regardless of what happened then. He apologized to me, he came today to apologize for how he has treated me the last four years, he promised things would be as different as he could make them without tipping off the other side. He wants to build a relationship with me, he wants to help me in anyway that he can to make sure I am prepared for the inevitable battle that will ensue eventually. Isn't it enough? Doesn't that show you that he is sorry for the part he played? It's not like he knew that Voldemort would target me and my parents."

Sirius studied his godson for a few moments, the silence between them became almost suffocating. It was Sirius who broke it first. "Stay here." He then turned and left the room. Unsure of what his godfather had planned, Harry took to shuffling his feet and running a hand through his hair as he thought about the newest information. That would explain why he was parent-less at least and why he was being targeted and had been since he was a baby. He chewed on his bottom lip as he waited, his eyes drifting around the drawing room, taking in the state that it was in. There was a tapestry on the wall by the door, it held a intricate design with lines linking each member of the black family including the Malfoy's. He had seen it the first day after he arrived, he made a mental note to ask Sirius about it later and why there was burn holes in it. Turning his eyes, he took in the big bookcase that stood beside the door, there were to many books that had to do with the dark arts, he shuddered slightly knowing that the following day they would be tackling said bookshelf to try and get rid of the stuff that was not safe.

There was also a wardrobe that stood against the wall next to the window, a set of couches with a coffee table and a fireplace at the far end. Unlike the sitting room, this fireplace was black with a marble top finish, the couches and coffee table however matched the set that was in the sitting room. He turned his attention to the door as both of his godfather's entered. Quirking an eyebrow he took in their expression's neither of them looked happy.

"Now then." Sirius started before taking a deep calming breath. "You know why I asked you to come up here." He stated eyeing Severus.

"I do. Let's get this over with shall we? Your guests will be arriving shortly." Severus replied coolly.

"Yes well this is more important. I have no idea why James and Lily would name you as Harry's other godparent but let me make one thing perfectly clear. You will not do a thing to hurt him, if you do I will kill you."

Severus scoffed at this earning himself a glare from the animagus. "I don't plan on betraying him Black. I am sure Harry told you that I apologized for my treatment of him?"

"Yeah he told me, doesn't mean I trust you. However, I will attempt to get along with you for Harry's sake. He all but begged me to." Sirius said his voice was calm but his eyes glinted viciously.

"How noble of you Black." Snape drawled his voice thick with sarcasm. Before Sirius could retaliate, Harry stepped in between them his hands held up.

"Will you two stop already? You both said you would get along, that should start now. I know you hate each other, but for the sake of this war, learn to get along! You both are my godfather's, no I don't fully understand why either but I accept it, it makes me happy knowing that I have two people who will do and have done anything they can to protect me. Yes Severus I know what your doing, I know you aren't simply a spy for the Order."

"How do you know pup?" Sirius asked his previous anger forgotten.

"Easy. I figured it out. I though about everything that has happened the last four years. Each time I was in trouble, Severus was there to help me get out of it. He is playing a dangerous role in this war, not only is he spying for us but he protects me. He was the reason I never fell off my broom during first year when Quirrell tried to knock me off by uttering a spell to make my broom go crazy. He was the one who went to the third floor that Halloween to head Quirrell off, he was with Dumbledore last year after the graveyard when Crouch jr took me up to the office, he is the reason that in third year when Remus transformed that I didn't get hurt, he took the blow for us. He is the reason I have survived a lot of things that happened to me. I also know that he is feeding false information to Voldemort, if he wasn't we wouldn't be able to fight back like we have been."

"How did you figured it out?" Severus asked impressed.

"Because I am observant. I just wasn't going to say anything for fear that someone from the other side heard and reported it back to Voldemort. My dad is right, you are a good man. That is why I was so ready to accept you as my godfather too, you are playing a dangerous role in this war." Harry faltered as both men looked at him with shock and a little bit of love.

Sighing Sirius closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts before he opened them and looked at the other man. "Severus, I...I apologize as well, for everything that I did while we were in school and everything I have said up until this point. I knew that you were a spy but I had no idea that you have done all of that for Harry. Truce?" He held out his hand in which Severus took and shook. "I apologize as well, I know I didn't make things any better back in school, nor have I done so since the Dark Lord came back to power. I will try to work with you for the sake of this war as well as Harry."

"Think you two could be friends eventually?" Harry asked child-like hope shining in his eyes. Sirius let out a bark-like laugh while Severus smirked.

"We shall see pup. Let's just take things one day at a time." Sirius said as the door opened to reveal a smiling Remus.

"Are things okay in here? Molly is almost beside herself with worry that you two have gotten into a duel in front of Harry, though I can't imagine why." Remus smirked as he walked over to the join the group.

"Things are okay Moony, just had to make a few things clear to Snape." Sirius replied.

"Oh so you know then that James and Lilly named Severus as Harry's second godfather?" Remus asked casually shocking the three that stood in front of him.

"Moony did you know?"

"I did. They asked me my opinion on it before they made it official." Remus stated.

"Why didn't you ever tell me? Why keep it from me?" Sirius asked a look of betrayal crossing his features briefly.

"They asked me not to. Lily was adamant that Severus be kept in the dark as well. She always hoped that he would switch sides, she thought that by apologizing and listing him as Harry's godparents that it would help him cope if she died." Remus stated. All three looked bewildered at this piece of information.

"She never stopped caring for me?" Severus said softly, his eyes closed.

"No never, I want to apologize as well Severus, I should have done more to stop them from treating you the way that they did back then. I don't know how many times Lily would ask me why I didn't." He looked pained as he remembered before he smiled fondly his eyes landing on Harry.

"Your mother had one hell of a temper cub, if after their falling out, she always snapped on James for the things he would say or do about Severus. It was always when they were alone though, she even hexed him once because of it." Remus chuckled. "Anyways. You three better get down there before Molly comes up and hexes all of us for taking so long." He then turned around and left through the door.

The three remaining looked at each other before following silently behind Remus, each lost in their own thoughts. It would prove to be a long night for all of them, for as soon as they entered, the other's bombarded the three with questions. Harry eventually told them and it took Hermione smacking Ron on the back of his head for something he said to get him to calm down enough to listen. The rest of them accepted it easily enough though, including Hermione which did not surprise Severus one bit, out of all of Harry's friend's she really was the most level-headed.

The part was enjoyable to everyone in attendance, even Severus could be seen with a smirk on his face as he chatted with someone. By the time that the party had ended, everyone was exhausted and ready for bed, including Severus. As he prepared himself for bed after returning home, he felt as if his future wasn't as clear cut as he originally thought, something that he was quite glad about. Maybe he would survive through this war after all, and maybe he would finally have the chance to do something right in his life, even if it was as small as preparing the Boy-Who-Lived for whatever could be thrown his way.

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 **Hey guys! When i started writing this chapter, I had a little over 90 follows but now i have 100! Thank you all sooooooo much! As promised chapter 4, i apologize if it is a little short, I was going to write more but decided to save the next bit for chapter 5.**

 **I look forward to hearing from all of you about this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I completely forgot that I was supposed to make an announcement at the end of last chapter so therefore I will announce it now. I am planning on making a few select pairings, in which I wish for you all to vote for. The pairings are as follows,**

 **Gaara/Hermione**

 **Shikamaru/Temari**

 **Ron/Temari**

 **Shikamaru/Ginny**

 **Kankuro/Hermione**

 **Harry** / **Sakura**

 **Gaara/Ginny**

 **These pairings are just for now, I do plan on adding a few more characters later on, and as such whoever is left "not claimed as a couple" from the pairings above will be set through another voting with someone else to be voted on. Please message me with your vote and I will keep a tally of the votes. Thanks Everyone in advance!**

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A week later found Albus once again making the trip to Konoha. Today was the day that he would be retrieving the Shinobi he had hired as guards. He smiled at himself as he walked up the path in the trees that led to the great gates of the hidden ninja village. A twinkle had already set in his blue eyes, it shown excitement. He mentally padded himself on the back as he remembered what had occurred when he had returned to headquarters a week prior.

 ***Flashback***

 _ **Albus let himself into Grimmauld place. The long dark corrider smelled a tad bit better than the last time he had been there, not much but a tad. He had been away for a few days and he couldn't help but feel satisfied. He had secured guards for the children, especially Harry and divulged the necessary information to Gaara to ensure that he would be included among the guards. Sure he felt a tad bit guilty that he had all but lied to Gaara about the reasons for telling him that information, but in the end it would be beneficial. He was brought out of his thoughts as he entered the kitchen of Grimmauld place to find that supper was already on it's way.**_

 _ **"Ablus? I didn't realize you would be by today. Come and join us will you?" Molly smiled brightly eliciting a smile from Albus.**_

 _ **"Thank you Molly, I think I will take you up on that offer." Albus stated as he took a seat at the head of the table that seemed to always be left vacant for him. He helped himself to some of the delicious food that molly had prepared and dug in as he took to looking around at the others, he effectively hid a smirk as he noticed that Severus was sitting beside Harry carrying on a conversation with him and Sirius as if he didn't have a rocky past with either of them.**_

 _ **As the meal went on, laughter and light chatter could be heard from around the table. Yes, the rest had also noticed Albus' entrance and they also knew something had to have happened for Albus to show himself at headquarters without a meeting taking place. Nobody dared to question as to what the reason was for his appearance due to being afraid of Molly's wrath. She felt that the dinner table was not meant for such serious talk, instead it was meant to bring those around it closer together, so she had promptly banned any Order and War business from it.**_

 _ **Time passed easily and before they knew it, the table was cleared and butterbeer was passed out to everyone. The chatter slowly dying down until all eyes rested on Albus. Severus of course was the first one to speak. "Were you successful Albus?"**_

 _ **The question gained everyone's attention in the room, the group of teens looking from one adult to the other with questioning looks present on their faces. Before Albus could respond however, Molly spoke up. "I don't think now is the time to discuss this you two, it should wait until after the children are in bed." This gained groans and objection's from the six making Albus chuckle slightly before he held his hand up silencing the room.**_

 _ **"Actually Molly, they need to be present. This is one thing that I refuse to keep from them." Molly of course looked concerned and looked as if she would object but instead nodded once in consent before sitting down beside her husband.**_

 _ **"Now then. Before I tell you the result of my task, I must ask you six." He looked at each of the children in turn before he continued. "A question."**_

 _ **"What is the question Headmaster?" Hermione asked quickly, a calculating look already upon her face.**_

 _ **"Have any of you ever heard of the hidden villages?" Albus questioned his blue eyes twinkling. It took no time at all for Hermione to figure out exactly what he asked. "Professor you wouldn't be talking about the Five Great Nations would you?"**_

 _ **"That is correct Miss Granger." Albus replied.**_

 _ **"What does the Five Great Nations have to do with anything though? I thought they weren't real, just a story created to entertain muggle children from Japan." The others were staring between the two, the five remaining children curious as to what they were talking about while the adults looked on with mild interest.**_

 _ **"A story yes, fictional? Not so much Miss Granger." Albus replied with a kind smile on his face.**_

 _ **"So the stories are based on real events?" She questioned. Albus simply nodded, waiting for her to continue. "If that is true then you know how to get into the barrier? Really?" Excitement was present in her golden brown eyes.**_

 _ **Chuckling Albus looked at her with amusement. "Ah always the scholar Miss Granger, but alas, now is not the time however, we might be able to arrange something come next summer." He stopped for a second gathering his thoughts as he looked at the room at large. "For those of you who do not know, The Five Great Nations are a secret community of chakra users." Albus stopped seeing the confused looks on the teen's faces.**_

 _ **"Chakra users?" Harry questioned his brow furrowing in confusing.**_

 _ **"Yes Mr Potter, Chakra, I will explain in full detail in a moment." Albus stated as he held his hand up, promptly stopping all other questions before they were asked. "As I was saying, they are a community of chakra users but not only that, they are skilled in various techniques that allow them to be formidable in the case of a battle. They are unpredictable, stealthy among other things. It is for this reason that I have enlisted for their help this year."**_

 _ **"Help with what exactly professor?" Harry asked, a sense of foreboding settling in the pit of his stomach.**_

 _ **"I have a task for them, with the war progressing much more rapidly than I had originally expected and the events from last year, I have requested that they send a team to Hogwarts this year, posing as students."**_

 _ **"Just tell them already Albus, this dawdling will do nothing about annoy them." Severus drawled, pinching his nose between his fingertips. Unease settled around the table as each teenager looked to Professor Dumbledore, questions showing clearly in their bright eyes.**_

 _ **Sighing Albus took another moment to gather his thoughts. "I need you all to listen very carefully. Our efforts to gather people on our side has proven difficult, especially with the ministry printing what they have been, feeding into the lie that Riddle has not returned. Very few want to acknowledge it, and as such has made it harder on us, for this reason, I will not be able to station as many Order Members in Hogsmeade as I had originally planned, to protect and guard the school and the students within it. So to ensure you are not harmed Harry, should Riddle find a way to get his troops into Hogwarts, I have hired some of the best that the Great Nations had to offer to protect you as well as the rest of the student body."**_

 _ **Silence had descended upon the kitchen as each took in the new information. Even the adults had determined looks or looks of curiosity on their faces as they sat there. In that moment, each of them in some way knew how serious the war had become, even Harry. Sighing Harry lookes up to the older man and spoke the question that had settled into his mind.**_

 _ **"So basically Ill have a body guard or two? Someone to babysit me and make sure nothing happens to me right?"**_

 _ **"Essentially yes, do not think for a moment my boy, that I am unaware of the abilities you have, I know you can protect yourself to a certain degree. That being said, you are not ready to face Tom's forces, you still have things to learn, all of you do. I wish you did not have to fight, unfortunately, that won't be the case. They will target you, all of you, in some way, it is better to be prepared and to be protected. The Shinobi I have hired will throw Riddle and his forces offguard." Albus spoke quickly his voice carried an authoritive tone, letting everyone know that there was no chance of changing his mind.**_

 _ **"When will they arrive Albus?" Sirius spoke.**_

 _ **"In a week, they will stay here until the school year starts, they will be fifth years as well, the cover story is that they are transfer students, I have a meeting with the board first thing tomorrow morning to convince them. I will tell them that they should allow the exchange to happen in light of last year's events. I have no doubt that they will approve of it. Once they do I need all of you to stick with the cover story. Can each of you do that?" Albus asked as he eyed each of the children present.**_

 _ **"Of course sir." Hermione spoke up while the rest nodded.**_

 _ **"Excellent, is there anything else you would like to know?" He asked.**_

 _ **"Sir, what is chakra?" Harry asked again.**_

 _ **"Chakra is kind of like magic, they have a core like we do, the difference is if they depleat their core, they die, whereas we go into a magic educed comma so our magic can replenish. While here, they will channel their chakra through the wands I will be giving them." Albus answered.**_

 _ **"Will we need to teach them spells before the school year sir?" Hermione questioned.**_

 _ **"You not need to worry yourself with that Miss Granger, Remus will be returning in the next few days to teach them the spells they need to know how to do, Remus is not a stranger when it comes to the chakra users, therefore it makes him the perfect teacher."**_

 _ **"Where has he gone sir?" Harry asked, concern for his adopted uncle settled into the pit of his stomach.**_

 _ **"He was sent on Order business my boy. That is all you need to know. He will return sometime in the next few days, I can assure you." Albus replied.**_

 _ **Harry looked crestfallen, he was so tired of being kept out of the loop. Though he knew there was nothing to be done. "Is there anything else that needs discussing Albus?" Molly inquired noticing that the group of children had started to yawn.**_

 _ **"Just one, there will be an adult with them, he will be a teacher at the school, he is a chakra user as well. I have not yet figured out how to go bout explaining his presence to the school board but I will figure it out, it is not something you need to concern yourselves with." Albus smiled. "Though I do wish for each of you to sign up for whatever class he has, it will prove beneficial."**_

 _ **The children nodded in agreement. "Wonderful. I shall be off now, I still have things to do." Albus said as he stood up. He bid everyone goodnight as he left the kitchen.**_

 _ ***Flashback Ends***_

Dumbledore looked up at the red roofed building that held the Kazegake's office, his musings halted as he made his way through the gate then the building, nodding and greeting shinobi and civilian alike as he went. Soon he found himself outside the office and after knocking once and promptly getting permission to enter, he opened the door to find a roomful of shinobi, each wearing an expression of some sort.

"Dumbledore-san, It's good to see you again." Kakashi stood and held out his hand as he spoke which Albus took without hesitation.

"Yes it is Kakashi, how have you been faring?"

"Well thank you. Everyone is here and accounted for." Kakashi replied. Looking around the office Albus nodded once. "Excellent, now before we depart there are a few things that I must go over with all of you."

"Will it require the mission to change?" Kakashi asked.

"No, the mission will stay the same. However, Mr. Yamato, the position that I have previously spoken of is not able to happen, the board would much rather you teach a subject than do research on each of our classes."

"Teach? I can do that, though I am unfamiliar with your classes." Yamato stated as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh I think that won't be a problem, you see, I have convinced them that having a Japanese history class would be beneficial to our students, that is of course, if you would be up for it?" Albus asked his eyes twinkling full force.

"As long as you do not expect me to teach about the Shinobi culture, I will be glad to teach it." Came the reply.

"I would not dream of asking that of you. I hold the Shinobi world in the highest regards and your need for secrecy is as high as the wizarding worlds."

"Then I have no qualms about teaching about our more, traditional culture." Yamato nodded once in agreement.

"Excellent. Now then, the Order are aware of your arrival today as well as Harry and his friends, they are all awaiting you at Headquarter's. Is there anything that any of you wish to know before we depart? We have approximately ten minutes before the portkey will leave without us."

"What is a port-thingy?" Naruto asked his face scrunched up in confusion.

"It is an object that has had a spell cast on it to allow people to travel from one place to another in a matter of seconds." Albus replied.

"What about the language barrier? We do not know how to speak English and I highly doubt aside from you and a handful of wizards that anyone knows Japanese." Yamato questioned.

"Ah yes I had forgotten about that. If you wouldn't mind, I know a spell that will make it possible for you to speak our language."

"By all means Albus, I trust you not to curse my friends." Kakashi replied before anyone else could.

Chuckling Albus withdrew his wand and after muttering a few words and complicated wand work, the spell was cast and he spoke to them in English. "There we are, that should do nicely."

"Will we learn spells like that while there?" Naruto asked. Albus smiled brightly. "No my dear boy that is an advanced spell and would be impossible for you all to learn. Speaking of, I have your wands here." He pulled out a box and set it on Kakashi's desk. "I know upon my last visit I had said that I would have someone take you to get them, but I was able to borrow these from our wand maker after explaining the situation to him. If you would please gather around and pick up each wand and pass them among yourselves until you have your own, we can get through this quickly." The group gathered around and each picked up a wand.

"Are these real?" Sakura asked.

"They are, if you wouldn't mind, pass them among yourself, I wish to see if my theory is correct."

"What theory Dumbledore-san?" Kankuro questioned as he received the wand that Gaara had handed him. As his hand wrapped around the handle, he felt a warmth spread from his hand up through his arm and settle in his core. "Whoa."

"Wonderful!" Albus said as he clapped his hands together once. "It's as I thought, your chakra is indeed alike our magic, meaning the wand recognizes it and you each will receive the wand that is best suited for you to use and channel your chakra through."

"How is that possible?" Shikamaru questioned a look of disbelief on his face as the wand grew warm in his hand.

"It is simple really, the similarities between my magic and your chakra are so many that the magical core's in the wands register it as the same, therefore allowing you all to wield wands and learn how to channel your chakra through them as we do our magic." Once each had their new wands, Albus packed up the remainder back in the box and stowed it away.

"Will we have time to learn?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, I have arranged for a very close friend of mine to teach you all how to use the wands as well as get you caught up in spell casting among other things that are needed to blend in with our world, including the Japanese Wizarding World."

"Did you tell our cousin who we are?" Temari asked, a look of curiosity present upon her features.

"I did not, as I said during the first meeting, it is best that he hears it from you, as well as see the papers that I had given you proving of the relation." Was the reply. "Though you three should know, Harry has two godfather's, one of them he has known about for two years, the other was just revealed to him. Therefore if he reacts in the way that I think he might, I ask that you please be patient with him. He has gone his whole fifteen years of life living with people who hated him for who and what he is, he knows only the love of his friends and his one godfather. It will come as shock to him to know that he has had family out there this whole time that would have been better suited to care for him and I daresay that he might blame me for leaving him with his aunt. I promise you though, if I would have known about the relation, I would have contacted you when his mother passed."

"We will be mindful Dumbledore-san." Gaara replied.

"Thank you, now then that is all the time we have. Come gather around." Albus said as he pulled out a very old book. The cover was torn and it had dirt stains on it, the pages were yellowed and were brittle. "Place one finger on it and do not remove it at any point in time, until we arrive. I will warn you all that this will not be a pleasant experience, you will most likely feel dizzy and may end up sick once we land, do not feel embarrassed if this happens, it is normal."

The group of seven did as they were instructed as the book started to glow yellow. "Kakashi I thank you for lending your assisstance, I will personally keep you informed on top of the reports that I am sure they will send you of what is going on."

"Thank you Dumbledore-san." Came the reply.

"Please call me Albus, I daresay that we have known each other long enough." Chuckling Kakashi nodded. "Indeed we have Albus. Have a safe journey, keep on your toes and never let your guard down with anyone but the ones that you will be meeting shortly, though do not share vital information about our world, it would not be good if one of them turned out to be a traitor."

"Aye Lord Sixth." Came the reply right before the group disappeared. Kakashi stayed staring at the spot that the group of eight had disappeared at for several minutes before he let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding. Having some of the best Shinobi's that he had gone for an entire year would prove to be trying, he just hoped that the peace that they had won would last. He turned his attention back to the paperwork in front of him as a feeling of foreboding settled into the pit of his stomach.

* * *

 **I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update this chatper! I have been dealin with a lot of stuff that has caused me not to be able to update. Anywho, as I stated before I wrote the chapter, I look forward to the votes of the potential couples and please if you would like to see a certain match made, feel free to message or comment! I look forward to hearing from each of you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! So I will try to update the story on a more normal basis, as long as life doesn't keep me from doing so! I am thrilled that this story has been so well received! I hope to keep doing it justice for all of you! Thanks a bunch everyone!**

 **On another note, this is NOT canon! Which means that the characters are not exactly the same as they was, I know Gaara is normally a cold calculating person, or was, but that was before Naruto befriended him and seeing how this story takes place AFTER the fourth great ninja war, Gaara is a unknown character on how he has changed since the war. I wish to touch on his more caring side, something we didn't really see a whole lot of during the series. That being said, he HAS to be a student because he is protective of his family, he will want to make sure Harry is safe at ALL times and though he may trust his siblings and the other's, he will do it himself due to his personality. I appreciate all feedback but please my awesome reader's, have an open mind when reading, after all this is a fan fic and trust me when I say, there are other stories that do not do the character's justice.**

 **I will be posting the results so far for the pairings at the end of the chapter.** **Hope to hear from each of you as always! Now onward to the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own either though I wish I did xD**

* * *

The sun set as the group of eight appeared in the little park across from a row of rundown houses in Grimmauld place. The playground equipment was broken, rust could be seen on almost every surface of the equipment. The bushes and grass was overgrown, the tall grass swaying in the light breeze. A few of the group stumbled and fell to their knees as they landed, each experiencing the normal feelings of dizziness that comes with traveling by port-key.

Albus waited patiently as they got over the sick feeling and stood up straight, making a half-circle around him. "Read this and memorize it. This is the only way you will see Headquarter's." He stated as he held out a piece of paper to them. They each took a turn in reading and memorizing it, once done they looked up at Albus waiting patiently.

Nodding once Albus took the paper back and set it aflame before turning and motioning for the group of shinobi to follow him. They were quiet as they headed up the street, each of them on alert. They reached out with their senses to be able to detect any danger, though there was none that did nothing to keep them from being on guard. As a Shinobi, it is one of the first things that is taught, never let your guard down, ever.

They continued walking up the street, cloaked in the dark of the night, the only streetlight that could be seen was up ahead and it barely let off enough light to make a difference. They soon came to a stop, Albus turned to face them with his back facing number twelve.

"Before we enter, I must ask that you all remain quiet while in the hall. There is a portrait of the late Mrs. Black hanging there and as it is, she quite despises us being there. The slightest sound will wake her and cause her to start screeching."

"Aye we will remain quiet Dumbledore-san." Yamato replied though he, like the rest of them looked confused. "Thank you and please call me Albus, you will all learn about our world during your stay this summer, including, why our portraits talk and move."

The group nodded then followed Albus across the street then up the walk to the steps of number twelve. The outside of the house looked horrible, the paint was peeling, the Windows were covered in grime , the roof was missing some shingles and the concrete was cracked and missing some pieces of it. The yard looked no better, grass needed cut, bushes need trimmed and the weeds and vines that had taken to growing up the side of the house and fence needed removed. The state of the place overall was very unappealing and caused the group to question if this really was the right place.

Albus stopped and tapped his wand on the door in a rhythm, as he did so they heard a series of clicks as the door unlocked. Once unlocked they followed the older wizard inside, Yamato bringing up the rear. Once he ensured that they were all inside safely, Albus turned and headed down the hall. The group took in the interior as they walked. The walls were covered in faded green wallpaper, dark symbols and paintings lined the walls as they passed. The carpet which was a deep green was filthy, the dirt so thick that if they had been a normal person, it would have been thick enough to silence their footsteps. Once again they wondered if they had come to the right place yet did not question. After all questioning the person who had hired them, would not bode well for their relationship with the outside world.

The seven were quiet as they followed, the long hall came out to a foyer of sorts. Against the wall sat a staircase that wound up about four floors and out of sight, to the left was a door that if one was to look in, would see a drawing room that used to hold bookshelves full of dark magic but now sat mostly empty. A grand piano sat in one corner of the room, a candelabra that held red candles sat atop of it and a black sleek bench sat just in front of it. In another corner sat the now polished wardrobe. A few couches sat in the middle of the room around a elegant dark wooden coffee table. The material of the couches were black leather, and underneath sat a deep green rug over the now polished wooden floors. Deep green curtains hung freshly washed and now dry over the windows, and the tapestry that ran along the left wall held the Black Family tree, one of which Sirius swore he would find a way to remove it.

At the base of the stairs sat another door which was open and voices could be heard floating up the stairs. The group shot Albus a questioning look and with a simple smile he led the way down the old wooden stairs and into the kitchen where a huge group of people sat talking. All eyes landed on the small group of Shinobi as they entered behind Albus, the seven quickly took in the appearance of each, their eyes landing on the boy with the glasses, bright green emerald eyes and a lightening shaped scar.

"I see the trip was successful, is this them then Albus?" Arthur asked as he stood and took a step forward.

"It is Arthur. May I introduce you all to the Shinobi from the hidden villages of Suna and Konoha. The gentleman on the left is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Heya Everybody! I hope to become great friends with all of you y'know!" Naruto stated as he gave the group a thumb's up and his brightest smile causing a few of the teens in the room to giggle or laugh.

"This is Shikamaru Nara." Albus stated motioning to the man beside Naruto. "Hey." He gave a half wave before sticking his hand back in his pocket.

"The next is Sakura Haruno."

"Hey everyone." She smiled and waved as she was introduced.

"Beside her is Haurki Yamato, he will be the new professor at school and as such you all will address him as either Professor Yamato or Yamato-Sensei, whichever he prefers really."

"Professor Yamato is perfectly fine thank you Albus, good to meet you all." The brown-haired man stated as he nodded to the room at large.

"Lastly we have the The Kato family, This is Kankuro, Temari and Gaara. I hope you all get along with them as well as work together with them to not only fit in during their stay with us but will lend them a helping hand while at school this coming year."

"Nice to meet ya!." Came Temari and Kankuro's replies meanwhile Gaara simply nodded his head in greeting. The group of wizard and witches were relieved to see that the Shinobi had dressed in normal clothing, they each somewhat knew that Shinobi dressed a tad different for their missions and had been worried about drawing attention for wearing such outfits.

"It is good to finally meet all of you." Arthur said he stepped up to shake hands with the seven. "I am Arthur Weasley, this is my wife Molly, and our children, the twins Fred and George, Ron, and our youngest Ginny." The four children shook hands with the group before moving off to the side as Hermione stepped up. "I am Hermione Granger, it is a pleasure to meet all of you." She too shook their hands, her eyes briefly meeting each of the shinobi's. Next up was Remus and Sirius.

"Hey the name's Remus Lupin as it stands while you all are staying here at headquarter's I will be teaching you all what you are needed to learn until you go off to Hogwarts."

"The name's Sirius Black and welcome to my family's home turned headquarter's for the Order. Please make yourselves at home and help yourselves to anything you may need." They each stepped back after their lengthy introductions. The last person to introduce himself seemed nervous as he stepped up and held out his hand to each of them. "Name's Harry Potter, pleasure to meet you all."

"Harry. It is a pleasure, I hope you would give us a moment of your time?" Gaara spoke as he shook the younger man's hand.

"If you wouldn't mind Lord Gaara, that can wait until later after you have all settled and eaten something? I wouldn't mind something to perk myself up a bit." Albus stated simply, Gaara studied him for a moment but then nodded releasing Harry's hand. Harry looked taken back if not a little confused as he stepped back to stand with the Weasley's.

"Now then, since we have all been introduced, why don't we show you to your rooms? I am afraid that some of you will have to bunk with other's but I hope you all will not mind." Molly said as she took charge.

"Of course not, we have slept in many places living as Shinobi, sharing a room with two or more people will not be a problem at all."

"Wonderful. Hermione, Ginny if you wouldn't mind showing Sakura and Temari to your room? Ron and Harry show Gaara and Kankuro if you would please and Fred and George show Naruto and Shikamaru to yours, that would be lovely. Mr. Yamato you will have a room to yourself, Arthur be a dear and show him would you? I will get started on supper." Molly said before she bustled off to the stove.

The children did as they were instructed and shuffled out of the kitchen and up the stairs out of sight followed by Arthur and Yamato. The group split off as they reached each landing, the girls went a floor further up to the second landing while Harry and Ron had stopped on the first, and Fred and George went up to the third. Harry and Ron quickly showed Gaara and Kankuro where the bathroom was and then showed them the bedroom that the four of them would be sharing. Arthur and Sirius had tagged-teamed in moving the two beds that Ron and Harry had been sleeping in on top of each other making a set of bunk beds. They had then conjured a second set of beds also bunked on one another, so in total sat four beds, one desk and two wardrobes within the room. Headwig and "Pig" aka Ron's owl sat on the owl perch in the corner of the room. The moment the door opened, Pig started flying around hooting loudly, meanwhile Hedwig just eyed the newcomers with a wariness set in her golden eyes.

"These are our beds and those are yours." Harry stated as he sat down on the bottom bunk.

"Thank you. I hope you do not mind us being in here with you two." Gaara stated simply, portraying no emotion and he claimed the bottom bunk.

"I promise I don't snore, can't say the same for my younger brother though." Kankuro stated flashing the pair a smile and earning a glare from Gaara.

"Hey! You don't know what you do when your asleep little brother, that's all I am saying." Kankuro said causing Harry and Ron to laugh. The atmosphere in the room seemed lighter after that as the two Shinobi went about unpacking. They of course had put everything into a scroll to make it easier to carry during the trip, and when they unrolled it and undid the seal, Harry and Ron both had wide eyes that held a look of impressiveness in them.

"How did you do that?" Ron questioned.

"Simple it's a sealing jutsu." Kankuro replied as he went about gathering his belongings.

"What is a sealing jutsu?" Harry questioned.

"I would say it is kind of like a spell, but instead of focusing our chakra through an object, we use hand signs such as you saw a moment ago." Gaara replied as he too went about gathering his belongings and getting them in order.

"Could you show us how to do that?" Ron questioned a look of excitement present. Kankuro and Gaara exchanged a look but before either of them could say anything someone knocked on the open door and in strode Hermione followed by Temari, Sakura and Ginny.

"I don't see why we wouldn't be able to teach you how to, it makes things easier to carry." Sakura stated as she took to sitting in the chair at the desk.

"You mean that?" Ron asked, a toothy grin plastering over his face.

"Maybe, I mean chakra and magic are so close in relation that we are able to have our own personal wands right? So why not teach you all how to channel your magic through signs instead of your wand." Sakura continued a small smile playing at her lips.

"That would amazing!" Ron stated again as Hermione and Harry shared a knowing look. Hermione ever the book worm and lover of learning wouldn't pass up this chance to learn about another culture and Harry would love anything to have an upper hand in the fight against Voldemort's forces.

"When do we start?" Harry questioned.

"I wouldn't start teaching anyone anything anytime soon if I was you, mum is going to have us all busy with cleaning the rest of the summer and you lot have your studies with Remus." Ginny stated instantly dampening the moods of the Golden Trio.

"That is true but you know we could always teach you all once school starts, I am sure in a castle as big as what Dumbledore claims, there are a few rooms that we could choose from." Temari piped up.

"There is always the RoR, I haven't actually found it myself but I now approximately where it is at." Hermione stated scrunching up her face in thought.

"The RoR?" Harry questioned.

"Oh honestly Harry have you never read anything? The RoR normally know as Room of Requirement or the come-and-go room. It is a room that will transform into anything that a person needs it to. For instance say you need a place to study, the room will transform and provide you with everything you need to do so." Hermione said.

"You think you could find it?" Temari questioned.

"I should be able to, like I said, I know approximately where it is located. Once we get to school I could look for it I already checked the first four floors, so all that is left is the fifth, sixth and seventh floors of the school." Hermione replied.

"Then it is settled, once we get to your school and you find the room, we can teach you all how to form hand signs and to channel your magic that way." Kankuro stated a smile forming.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Harry stated before Fred and George walked in followed by a hyper blonde Naruto and a moody Shikamaru.

"What does?" George asked as he sat down beside Harry.

"These guys are going to show us how to channel our magic through hand signs, like they do their chakra." Hermione answered.

"Can we join?" Fred asked.

"That was the plan." Came Kankuro's reply.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Naruto said loudly causing chuckles to pass between everyone. The rest of the evening before supper was spent with the large group in Harry and Ron's bedroom. The nine of them becoming fast friends as they shared stories about their lives. Everyone that is except for Gaara, as he normally kept people at arms length. He was not one to trust everyone so easily, though the way he acted towards Harry versus how he was towards the rest, was easily noticeable to the other Shinobi who knew him. Of course the group of ninja was careful to not reveal too much just yet about the kind of work they had done as Shinobi but everything was free for the telling. By the time that one of the adults had fetched them for supper, they had about exhausted themselves with laughter and Harry, Harry was at that moment the happiest he had been in a very long time. Though he couldn't quite ignore the gut feeling that his life was going to change even more so than it already had, whether that would be a good thing, would remain to be seen.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the group of shinobi had arrived. Over the course of those two weeks, you could find the seven right after breakfast in the massive library being taught by Remus meanwhile the rest of the inhabitants were set up on a room or two to clean that day. Slowly but surely the house was becoming less contaminated and more livable. Gaara was getting more annoyed as the days passed, he had wanted to talk to Harry before now about their relation to him but was finding it impossible. Even if they had the free time to do so, he was always being stopped by someone for some reason or another. That was why the minute lessons was over for the day, he had Temari and Kankuro follow him to the kitchen where he knew the others would be for lunch. Upon entering his eyes landed immediately upon Harry and walking over he took the seat next to him.

"Harry after lunch might we have a moment of your time?" Gaara asked in his soft spoken voice. Harry looking unsure nodded. "Just me or can I bring Ron and Hermione too?"

"Just you Harry, though you will be able to tell them afterwards if you so choose." Kankuro stated before Gaara.

"This again? Why does everyone always say that? But alright, yeah, I'll speak with you lot after lunch." Harry said.

"Thank you." Came the reply and with a nod Harry turned back to Ron to pick up the conversation that the three shinobi had interrupted. The exchange did not go unnoticed by Sirius who was looking at the four with concern. What could the Shinobi possibly want with his pup? He pushed the thought to the side and instead conversed with Remus and Arthur about the going on's at the ministry while they ate. In no time at all lunch was over and Harry made his departure from the kitchen following after Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. Gaara led them up the stairs and into the sitting room where he posted himself beside the fire.

As the others got settled, the door opened again, Sirius standing in the doorway.

"I do not know what you want with Harry but I want to be present for this discussion, I am his godfather and as such have a right to be." He stated simply shutting the door and casting a silencing spell before moving to stand beside the chair that Harry had taken to sitting in and crossing his arms. The three siblings looked between each other before Gaara nodded.

"Fine. I will allow you to stay. However I ask that you withhold any questions at present until after." Gaara stated acting every bit of the Kazekage that he was. Sirius just nodded in response and waved his hand in a manner giving Gaara the go ahead to address whatever matter this was. Gaara studied Harry for a moment before taking the chair opposite him.

"Harry what do you know of your mother's adoption?" He asked.

"Nothing except that she was adopted and I have cousin's out there somewhere, I plan on looking for them as soon as this war is over with. Why do you have any idea of where they could be?" Harry asked hopeful.

"Actually Harry." Temari said as she withdrew a folder from somewhere on her person. "Here. Read these." Harry was experiencing a sense of deja-vu as he took the folder and opened it. The room was silent as he and Sirius read the papers, both of their expressions going from confusion to shock and for Harry, finally anger. He looked up at the three a look of disbelief and anger present.

"You are my cousins?"

"We are." Gaara replied.

"Why then? Why did you not take me when my parents died? Do you know what I went through?! Do you know how many nights I spent wishing for someone to come and take me away from the Dursleys?"

"Harry.." Temari started.

"NO! If you knew then why did you not come for me? Why leave me in that awful place?!" Harry was fuming though he did not yell, apart of him felt numb and another part of him felt betrayed. He had a family, he could have grown up a happy child and yet nobody had come to rescue him.

"We did not know Harry." Kankuro said simply a tone of regret seeping through.

"You didn't?" The three shook their heads. "If we had, we would have come for you. We found out when Dumbledore visited the first time to discuss the mission. By that time you had already been retrieved and brought here." Gaara said not portraying any emotions as he spoke.

"Harry." Temari started again and continued before he could interrupt her. "We did not have any knowledge that we had an aunt let alone a baby cousin. Our father nor uncle told us anything, if they had, we would have searched for her a long time ago. I know it does not fix what you went through growing up with those people, but if possible we would like to try to make up for our absence up until now, it is why we took on the mission ourselves instead of sending people from our village."

"We suspect that this is what Dumbledore wanted when he approached us. I do not fault him for lying about his reasons for telling us, but I would have preferred he would have been honest. Regardless it does change the fact that the minute he told us, I decided that it would be us three to accompany Naruto and the others, leaving all my Kazekage duties and the running of the village to someone that I trust." Gaara said. It was the most that he had spoken all at once since he had arrived and as such left Harry a little surprised that he was capable of so many words.

"Kazekage?" Sirius looked shocked. "Albus said nothing of your position as leader of Suna."

"I am not surprised, he seems to be the type to withhold information for some reason or another." Kankuro stated with annoyance.

"A leader? So what you run an entire village?" Harry questioned a tad awed at the news.

"I do. Kazekage would be equivalent to your Minister of Magic, I foresee all that has to do with the village. Though while I am here, the title does not hold as much as it does back home. That does not mean however I will not look over reports and make decisions that require my seal from here. I have been keeping informed of what is happening back home." Gaara said. Silence fell upon the room as Harry took in the information, as it finally dawned on him that he more family than he had ever thought possible, tears appeared alarming the other four.

"What's wrong pup?" Sirius questioned as he bent down to look Harry in the eyes.

"It's nothing, it's just...I have a family Sirius. An actual family, with you and Severus, and now Temari, Gaara and Kankuro, I'm just happy, happy that I have a place that I am wanted." He then turned to look at the sand siblings. "You do want me don't you?" He knew the question was silly, but he had to know for sure. Had to know that this wasn't some cruel joke that was being played on him, that they would not just disappear from his life now that he had found them.

"Of course we do Harry." Temari said as she took to sitting on the arm of his chair. "We would not have come all this way if we didn't. Family is important to us and once this year is over with, if you and Sirius wanted. This summer you can come visit our village, see where we live."

Harry's eyes widened slightly. "You mean it? I can come visit?" Gaara smiled a real smile for the first time since he had arrived two weeks prior, though it was small, it was still a smile. "Of course. It is only right for you to know where your mother would have grown up if she had not been adopted."

"Speaking of, we did some checking around before we left." Kankuro said. "It turns out the reason your mother was adopted was because of her magic. It is uncommon in the Shinobi world for someone to be born with something other than chakra."

"So she was sent away to be adopted?" Sirius asked a look of outrage.

"It is not as simple as that." Gaara said. "What my brother fails to tell you is that at the time of her birth, our world was in a dangerous war. Apparently it was not uncommon for magicals and Shinobi to fight alongside each other at that time and before. During our quest to find out why she was sent away, we were curious as to why she was born with magic and not chakra and found that one of our ancestors had married a magical and had given birth to two children. One was born with chakra and the other with magic. As I understand it, one cannot be born with both. Though the last known person to be born with magic was our three times great aunt. Magic had not presented itself in our family until aunt Lily was born, though at the time of her birth as you can see from her adoption papers that we found while back home, her original name was Sayuri Suzuki."

Temari picked up where Gaara left off as he stopped to take a breath. "From what we understand, the reason she was sent to the outside world was because a magical born into a Shinobi family was highly sought after. The power that a witch or wizard can hold is something that was highly sought after in wars, it was for this reason that after one of the wars, wizards stopped helping in our battles and put up a barrier around the Five Great Nations, with only a few ways in and out of it. So she was sent away for her safety, though why we were never informed of this, I could not tell you, and it's not like we ask our father or uncle, they both passed on years ago."

"So, she wasn't shamed for having magic?" Harry asked.

"No she wasn't Harry and neither are you. We accepted you the moment we knew." Temari replied a soft smile present as she wrapped an arm Harry's shoulder.

"How do you know about how powerful wizards are if you had never of us until Albus approached you?" Sirius questioned.

"It isn't that we didn't know of wizards, it is more that we did not bother reading upon our history with the wizarding world, something that I should have done once I became Kazekage but we were in a time of hardship and war and I did not feel the need to go looking up the history, if I had, I am sure we would have found out sooner about you Harry and for that I apologize. I promise no harm will befall you while we are in your life." Gaara said.

"What do you think about of this pup?" Sirius asked a look of concern as he stared at his godson.

"I think that, I am lucky, lucky to have a family that accepts me. It will be hard to accept it fully though, I spent years made to feel as if I was nothing but a waste of space." He stated as a pained look crossed his features but then he smiled. "I look forward to getting to know my real family and I can't wait for the year to get over with so I can visit and see where my mother comes from." The three let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that Harry had accepted them and they knew that it would be a long road of healing for him, from the pain that the Dursley's had caused him. An abused child would always second guess himself and would always look for acceptance, they would always have scars from being mistreated such as Harry had but they each hoped that over time he would be able to move on completely from the pain they had caused him and they hoped that he would be able to be a somewhat normal teenager, despite the war going on.

* * *

 **Hey guys! As promised here is the current standings for the pairings.**

 **Shikamaru/Ginny-1**

 **Kankuro/Hermione-4**

 **Shikamaru/Temari-5**

 **Gaara/Hermione-3**

 **Ron/Temari-**

 **Harry/Sakura-**

 **Gaara/Ginny-1**

 **Gaara/Luna-1**

 **Naruto/Harry-1**

 **Ron/Sakura-1**

 **So far this is what the polls are, I had not thought of there being a M/M relationship but that isn't a bad idea. As you can see there are more pairings than what I had originally come up with and I encourage it! The poll will be up for another few chapters yet so please give me your opinions! I do wish to state that this is not completely connon and I do want to see our fav characters with someone other than who they ended up with.**

 **On another note I am completely blown away by how many Favs/Follows I have received! Harry now knows about his relation and I hope that I wrote it in such a manner that you all enjoy it immensely! I look to post chapter 7 by the latest next weekend if not beforehand so please people give me your opinions on the pairings! Also the pairing are not limited to just the group of students! If you would like to see any of your favorite professors/adult characters together please let me know and I will see about putting them in the story! I looked forward to hearing from each of you and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! So once again I will post the current standings for the pairings at the end of the chapter. I however would like to clear something up that was mentioned in a review.**

 **In order for the pairings to work without there being any problems with the age difference I have decided to change the timing a little bit. This will still take place after the Fourth Great Ninja War but instead of two years like I had originally said in my author's notes at the end of chapter 2, (I have gone back and changed it) It now instead takes place almost a year later. The reasoning for this is because in the entire shippuden series Naruto and the gang are 15 to 17 years old. When Naruto fought pain, he was 16. Now I know that not all of them were that age but for the sake of this story and the pairings, I would like to think that the group that I have sent are ranging from 17 to 18, everyone except Temari and Kankuro that is. They are a tad older than Gaara. Nobody exactly knows their ages though so I am putting them being at least 18 to 19 in this story. We all know that in the wizarding world, you come of age at 17, with it being their 5th, majority of them are 15 to 16, i have found some information on birthdays for the shinobi group and most of them are born between Janurary and October, and so they have either already turned 18 or they will. With this being the case, some of you may cringe when thinking of the current standings for the pairings but please do not think that I will be putting anything other than a few make-out scenes in my story, this is not THAT type of story . I think a two to three year age difference between some of the character's is not a bad thing, anyways I do hope you all will still vote for your favorite pairings and please keep reviewing! It is helping me so much in writing and trying to give you all something you will enjoy!**

 **Now then onto the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I wish I was the owner of both but alas that is not the case. *Cries loudly* :P**

* * *

June ended and turned into July, the days hot and the sun bright. Those in Grimmauld place however noticed not the temperature for the house was cool and their days were spent together in a blurry of activity. As the month neared it's end, excitement could be felt seeping throughout the house. The reason for this being that a certain boy-who-lived would be celebrating his fifteenth birthday. This year though was a tad different, all because his life had changed so much since he had arrived at the beginning of the summer. Not only did he have a better relationship with the esteemed Potion's Master who had been revealed as his second godfather, but he also had gained three cousins, all of whom sought him out at some point during the afternoon everyday after it was revealed who they were, to spend time with him.

The morning of his birthday dawned early and clear, he was awoken by an excited Sirius who had transformed into Padfoot and had promptly jumped up on him while he slept and proceeded to lick him all over his face causing Harry to try to block his godfather's attack with his arms which failed horribly. The other three boys in the room found it quite funny and did nothing to hide their laughter, even Gaara could not help but let out a few chuckles at the older wizard's antics.

Once up and after being thoroughly licked and pounced upon by his godfather, Harry had showered and joined the rest of the inhabitants of Headquarter's in the kitchen for the breakfast that Molly had cooked that had consisted of all of Harry's favorite breakfast foods. The table was filled with laughter and chatter as they dug into the delicious food. As breakfast continued loud and joyous, Harry could be found smiling and laughing at something that Naruto had said, or receiving a slap on the back of the head by Temari for some comment he had made. Overall that morning's breakfast was a very happy occasion.

Once fed, the group of soon to be students left the kitchen and headed upstairs to the library which had surprisingly become their favorite room in the house. The group would spread out, Hermione, Ginny, Temari and Sakura who had become fast friends could be found on the couches talking and giggling about something or another. Ron and Kankuro could be found at a chess table sat near the fireplace meanwhile Naruto, Harry and Shikamaru could be found sitting in front of the fire discussing the Shinobi or wizarding worlds. Gaara would also sit in front of the fire, though he remained quiet for the most part, he would add his two cents in when needed or would ask Harry a question if he had one. George and Fred would hole themselves up in a corner and come up with new ideas for their joke shop that they had been planning to open as soon as they graduated, their minds full of fun ideas just waiting to be let loose upon the wizarding world.

This morning was no different really, except for the fact that they had all gathered in the center of the room on the couches or chairs, Hermione could be found with her nose in a book, Ron and Kankuro played chess, the remaining girls sat talking quietly and Harry joined Naruto, Gaara, Fred, George, and Shikamaru in their discussions. As the morning wore on and turned to early afternoon, they were joined by Yamato, Sirius and Remus.

Sirius being the life of the party that he was, insisted on sharing stories of the Marauder's time at Hogwarts. Everyone except Hermione who was still immersed in her book and Gaara who was currently deep in thought about something, listened intently and laughed at all the right places as he told each one, it wasn't until Molly had come in later in the afternoon and rounded up the three men that the stories stopped and the teenager's were left once again to their own devices. It was during this time that Harry had excused himself to go to the bathroom. While he was gone, Naruto turned to Gaara with a serious expression present and after gaining the redhead's attention spoke to him in a low enough voice that none of the other's could hear, asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Gaara about Harry."

"What about Harry?" Gaara asked, his green eyes meeting blue.

"Are you going to tell him about being the Jinchuuriki for the one-tail?" Concern shown in his blue eyes as he held his friend's gaze.

"I will eventually, but not today, not while he is so happy. I am sure you have noticed how carefree he seems, even with a Dark Lord hanging over his head, he probably has never been as happy as he seems at the moment which is most likely due to the abuse from his so-called relatives?" Naruto nodded. "I do not wish to frighten him, not when we have just found him. I am asking you Naruto, please do not speak a word of it until the time is right, that includes about Kurama."

"I won't say a word Gaara, you have my word." They nodded in understanding before a thoughtful look overcame Naruto's features. "Y'know I don't think you will have to worry about him being afraid, he is strong and so happy that he has found family that accepts him and all he deals with, I think that he will not care one bit about that, I think, like you did for him, he will accept you no matter what." With that Naruto smiled then turned back to strike up a conversation with Fred and George as Harry re-entered the library, leaving Gaara to ponder what the blonde haired male had said.

Soon enough they were being rounded up by a smiling Sirius and told to follow him which they did, down the stairs to the first landing. Instead of heading towards the kitchen like they had figured they would, he instead led them into the drawing room. The sight that met them was very different from what it normally looked like. The drawing room had been transformed, a banner saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY hung in front of the window where a table with a golden and red table cloth had been draped on it sat, on top of it sat a pile of presents. The tapestry had been covered with red and golden drapes to cover it up, (Sirius' Idea), a table of refreshments had been set up in front of it, a red two tier cake with golden snitches sat in the middle of it. The couches and table had been pushed against a wall, and there was even a radio that had been enchanted to play some music that played softly in the background so as to not overtake the party. Standing in a group waiting for him with smiles on their faces was all of the Order member's who could attend along with Molly, Arthur, Remus and to even Harry's surprise, Severus who supported a smirk.

As he entered, everyone shouted "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY." It was a small yet happy occasion, Harry felt almost overwhelmed with how much love he was shown that night. He chatted with everyone, shared laughs, opened his presents and even danced sloppily a little with some of the other teens that where there. That night as they celebrated, sang Happy Birthday, ate cake and enjoyed each other's presence, Harry felt for the first time since he had entered the wizarding world that he had been accepted fully, not for being the boy who lived, but for being just Harry. Yes he was aware of the storm brewing outside of Grimmauld Place, of the killings, the words being printed about him but for the first time since his first year, he was truly not worried about there being a target on his back, no instead as he laughed with his friends and new-found family, he felt at peace and felt that there was indeed hope for a bright future.

* * *

Two weeks passed and with it, the letters for Hogwarts arrived, including those for the shinobi just as Albus had said they would. Hermione and Ron received badges for Head Boy and Girl. Ron thought that Harry would be jealous for not getting it but in truth Harry was relieved. He had a big enough target on him without being given the extra responsibility of being Head Boy. Molly was of course thrilled that another Head Boy had been chosen in their family and had agreed to get Ron the new broom he wanted. Plans were made immediately to go to Diagon Alley the following day, only Harry would be left behind with Ron, Hermione and Remus. The shinobi had to go to get fitted for their school robes, and Sirius had agreed to go to get Harry's supplies as well as withdraw him some gold from his vault.

The next morning came early and with it, the departure for Diagon Alley after breakfast. While the group was gone, Harry visited with Buckbeak who had been stuck in Sirius' parents room since him and Sirius had escaped death two year's prior. Harry enjoyed talking to the Hippogriff as he awaited the large group's return.

About an hour after he had entered the room, a knock was heard before the door opened to reveal Sirius. "I thought you would be in here pup." He said as he entered and sat down beside Harry on the floor who had taken to leaning against Buckbeak's side. "You alright pup? You look like you were thinking about something."

"I'm alright Padfoot, was just thinking about something that Naruto said to me a few weeks ago." Harry replied.

"You want to talk about it? I am here to listen." Harry took to chewing on his bottom lip as he sat thinking about what had been said to him.

 ***Four weeks Prior***

 **It was late as Harry made his way down to the kitchen. He couldn't sleep, his mind was too much of a mess. The copy of the Daily Prophet that day had put him into a depressed state that seemed to not go away, even with his friends and cousin's doing everything they could think of to cheer up him, did nothing to help.**

 **The Wizarding World thought that he was trying to play up him being the Boy-Who-Lived by saying that the Dark Lord was back. That he was trying to stir up trouble and frighten everyone and that was not even the worst of it. Sure, he had known that the paper had been printing horrible stuff about him but he had not bothered to read any of them that had arrived at Headquarter's, he had even cancelled his prescription. He had known that if he was to read it, it would just tick him off or send him into a depression that would be hard to get out of and that is exactly what had happened. So why did he read that morning's? Was it the curiosity of what exactly was being printed about him that caused him to? Or was it because he had seen it laying there and figured he'd read it to see if anything had changed?**

 **Regardless of the reason, he found he was unable to sleep and so made his was down to the kitchen to get himself some warm tea, hoping that he would be able to sleep afterwards. He was thankful that nobody was up to see him and ask what was wrong, he didn't want to see the pity or worry in their eyes that he tended to see when they looked at him. He made it to the kitchen and immediately set the kettle for the tea on the stove to heat up, he sat down at the table and laid his head on the cool surface and closed his eyes, losing himself in his thoughts.**

 **He had a slight headache and the coldness of the wooden table felt wonderful and eased some of the pain that he was feeling. He did not notice that the door had opened and that Naruto was standing there looking at him. The blonde haired ninja felt a pang in his chest as he stood looking at Harry, the pain that he could see clearly on the teen's face was something that he could understand all to well.**

 **He too never knew his parents, like Harry, he had grown up hated and though things were different now, he still remembered the pain from it. The way he felt every night as he laid in his bed in his apartment. He sigh silently to himself and entered the kitchen, sitting down beside Harry as he spoke.**

 **"You know hiding out in the kitchen at three in the morning doesn't do any good right Harry?" Harry jumped up and held his wand in Naruto's face before he recognized who it was who had spoken to him. "Don't you know it's not very smart to sneak upon someone?" Harry said as his heart slowed down and he stowed his wand back in his pocket.**

 **"I do know that, though being sneaky is apart of our training in being Shinobi. To take an enemy by surprise is beneficial in a battle." Naruto said as he leaned back in his chair. "What are you doing up anyway?" He continued before Harry could reply as the kettle went off.**

 **"I couldn't sleep is all." Harry replied as he got up to make himself some tea. "Want some tea?"**

 **"Yeah I'll have a cup with you." Naruto replied.**

 **"How do you like yours? Sugar? Milk? Plain?" Harry questioned as he poured tea into two cups.**

 **"You got any sugar cubes?" Naruto asked. Harry placed a small platter with sugar cubes on the table along with the cup of tea for Naruto before sitting down himself and dropping two sugar cubes into his own cup and stirring it a little watching the cubes dissolve from the hot liquid. "What are you doing awake Naruto?"**

 **"I couldn't sleep either."**

 **"Want to talk about it?" Harry asked as he sipped his tea.**

 **"Just anxious about the upcoming mission. I mean we are already on it but the real work will start when we get to Hogwarts and seeing how we haven't been able to do any training since we arrived, we will need to figure that out as well as what will work best for what we need to do. That's all really."**

 **"You mean you aren't worried about the school work or fitting in?" Harry questioned.**

 **"Not really, I mean we it would make our job easier if we fit in right away but we will seem strange to the other student's y'know? I don't think we will have much trouble but then again, who knows?" Came the reply.**

 **"You all will be outcast for associating with me." Harry said as he stared into his tea. A feeling of regret settled into his stomach as he thought about the upcoming school year.**

 **"Hey, don't say that. We don't care how the other's treat us. We are here to do a job, we cannot afford to worry about what they may or may not say about us. It would distract us from our mission."**

 **"How does it not affect you?" Harry asked as he met the blue eyes that held some pain from a hard life yet looked so lively and full of hope.**

 **"I can not speak for the rest, but for me, I learned at an early age that if I let what other's said about me drag me down, I would never be able to move forward and prove them wrong. It took a lot, y'know, to get their opinions about me to change but I did. I stuck with my beliefs and showed everyone who thought badly of me that I wasn't what they were saying I was." Naruto said a small smile appearing.**

 **"How though? How did you deal with it?"**

 **"I believed I could." Naruto replied growing serious. "Harry, I know what the Daily Prophet is saying about you has affected you greatly but you know different. You know what you saw last year, you know who it was that you fought and survived and what's more, you know that no matter what they print about you, you know what the truth is."**

 **"How did you know what was bothering me?"**

 **"Everyone knows you read the paper Harry. You went into a depressed state right after, it wasn't hard to put two and two together." Harry looked down at the table ashamed. He hadn't realized it was that noticeable. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry anyone."**

 **"Don't apologize Harry. Actually, I understand completely, as I said earlier, people said some pretty horrible stuff about me when I was younger, treated me different from everyone else, so I know what your feeling but you need to remember something Harry."**

 **"What's that?" Harry asked as he met Naruto's eyes. Naruto placed his hand on Harry's arm. "That you are not alone in this. Even with Voldemort targeting you, you have people who truly care about you and are fighting to protect you while you hone yourself into someone who can defeat him. You have something I did not have until I joined team seven, you have friends Harry, people willing to sacrifice their lives to you can fight and free the Wizarding world from a evil man who enjoy's seeing other's suffer who do not share in his beliefs."**

 **Naruto smiled before continuing. "You have formed bonds with people who treasure them as much as you do, even if the rest turn against you because they are foolish enough to believe some printed words versus the evidence that goes on around them, it matter's not because you have those around you who believe you and will stand beside you until the very end. They will never let you down Harry, learn to lean on those bonds, for they will be what save you in more ways than you will believe" With that Naruto stood and after cleaning his cup, he left the kitchen, leaving Harry to his thoughts.**

 ***Back to the Present***

"Pup? Sirius placed his hand on Harry's head bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry was just remembering that day." Harry replied readjusting the way he was sitting.

"It's alright pup, so what did Naruto say?" Sirius asked as he took to stroking Buckbeak. "He said that no matter what the Daily Prophet says about me and who believes it that I am not alone. He said that I have formed bonds with people who treasure them just as much as I do." Harry said as he picked at a hole on his jeans.

"Smart lad." Sirius replied.

"He made me realize that even though pretty much all of the British Wizarding World thinks of me as a liar, I am not as alone as I thought and felt. I was so caught up in what was being said and the way it made me feel that I didn't see everyone who is out there right now fighting against Voldemort's forces, those who are here with me right now. He said that those bonds that I have with everyone here, will save me in more ways than I will believe and I think he is right."

"That is because he is pup. The friendship that I had with James and Remus and Lily saved me from following my family. They were the reasons I had such a fun and happy time at Hogwarts. They were why I fought in the first war, then when you were born and they named me as your godfather, you became just as much as a reason as they were. What Naruto said is spot on, we fight not because we are obligated to pup, we fight because we have something worth fighting for, we have people worth fighting for and that pup is stronger than anything else. The bonds he spoke of, is strengthened by the love we have for those who we care about."

Silence filled the room as they both got lost in their thoughts. It was some time before Harry spoke again. "You know padfoot, I think as long as I have you and Ron and Hermione and everyone else standing beside me, I think that I will be alright. I have a lot to learn still, to be able to face Voldemort and win, but I think we will be alright, all of us." Sirius smiled as he pulled Harry into a side-hug. "That's right pup, we will be. All of us. We will survive this and build a better future for all the future Marauder's."

Harry smiled. "We should go find Hermione, the other's will be back soon pup." Sirius said he got up and helped Harry up.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah pup?"

"Thank you."

"For what pup?"

"For being the best godfather I could have asked for. For believing in me, showing me that I matter, for being you." Harry replied. Sirius looked at Harry with so much love that it would have overwhelmed some."I will always be here pup. Never forget that."

* * *

 **Hey guys so here is the poll so far for the pairings.**

 **Shikamaru/Ginny-2**

 **Kankuro/Hermione-6**

 **Shikamaru/Temari-9**

 **Gaara/Hermione-6**

 **Ron/Temari-1**

 **Harry/Sakura-1**

 **Gaara/Ginny-1**

 **Gaara/Luna-9**

 **Naruto/Harry-12**

 **Ron/Sakura-4**

 **Harry/Shikamaru-1**

 **Naruto/Gaara-1**

 **Kankuro/Ginny-1**

 **Neville-Luna-1**

 **As Everyone can see there have been votings for some new pairings and the most popular by far is Naru/Harry and of course our beloved Shika/Temari. Kankuro/Hermione is neck and neck with Gaara/Hermione O.O Hehe so far this is the posting for the current votes! So come on people get those votes in!**

 **Now then as for what i said at the beginning of the chapter, if that changes your votes please message me and let me know so i can adjust it at the end of the next chapter. I don't feel like it would affect it too much but then again i am optimistic and would like to see the pairings that have been voted for so far. I will try to get chapter 8 written and posted by next Saturday but apologize ahead of time if I am not able to! I do hope you all enjoyed the chapter (Though i feel it was lacking, ugh!) I also apologize if there are some grammer mistakes, it is late and i am very tired ^.^**

 **As always i look forward to hearing from all of you so write those reviews or send those messages! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! So here we are chapter 8 :D I can't believe I have almost 200 followers! Thanks a bunch everyone for following along with this story! I will post the pairings at the end of the chapter as usual. Now then onward to the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own either though I pretend I do :P**

* * *

"Severus so glad you could join us." It was late yet the inner circle of Death Eater's found themselves seated at a table, Severus walked in and bowed before addressing the snake-like man sitting at the head of the table.

"I apologize for my tardiness M'Lord, Albus was going on about the upcoming school year."

"I will excuse your tardiness this time Severus, if you have valuable information for me." Came the reply, red eyes narrowed. Severus nodded once as he took his seat before addressing the man again.

"M'Lord I do in fact have information, it seems that Albus has been able to get foreign students to attend Hogwarts once again this year. They are currently staying with Harry Potter, I believe that they are not merely students though, I met the teacher that accompanied them tonight, the feel of him is of a fighter, someone who has seen many battles in his time. His civilian clothing are not that of a typical Wizard either." Severus spoke quickly yet softly.

"Interesting...It seems Albus has something up his sleeve. Very well Severus, you are to keep an eye on these new foreign students as well as their teacher, I want to be informed immediately if your suspicion's are correct. Fail and you will be punished for both your tardiness tonight and your failure to inform me."

"Yes M'Lord." Severus said before mentally thanking for not being punished.

"M'Lord, I to have information." Lucius spoke up, a slight quiver to his voice.

"Very well Lucius, this had better be worth listening to." Voldemort said. Gulping Lucius sat up a little straighter as eyes from the rest of the Death Eater's and his Lord's stared at him.

"It is about the prophecy M'Lord, I had one of my house elves watching the corridor last night, it seems that Albus is having some Order member's guarding the door leading into the Unspeakable's Department. Though they are using an invisibility cloak." There was silence as Lord Voldemort thought about the new information. It was some time before he spoke.

"Very Well, we will let Albus keep posting member's at the door, we have other work to do, we need to recruit others to join our side. Yaxley, Dolohov, I want you to take a small group of the newest Death Eater's and go parry with the giants. We will need them on our side when the time comes. Fenrir, have you had gathered more wolves into your ranks? We will need them as well."

"I have M'Lord, it seems that a lot of them are not happy with Albus or the Ministry at the moment. They have seen the type of freedom you have given me for being a loyal follower and they want that kind of freedom for themselves, some of them wish to wear your mark as well."

"Gather them tonight and we shall see who passes the test." Voldemort said quickly.

"Of course M'Lord." Fenrir said. Voldemort then turned his attention to Yaxley and Dolohov. "Take a gift to the giants, the leader will be more receptive to listening if you give him something worthwhile, take a month's worth of gifts, I have a feeling Albus will be sending that filth Hagrid to try to convince them to join his side."

"Yes M'Lord." Came the double reply.

"The rest of you will await your assignments. Severus tell what you must to Albus but do not give away what we are up to."

"Yes M'Lord." Severus said as his mind whirled with the newfound information, sorting out what to tell Albus. Of course he would keep nothing from him but it was better to act like he was storing away vital information for Voldemort was currently attempting to get into his mind to see what he was planning on telling Albus and he of course let him. He had made sure that the snake-like man could see only what he wished for him to see, so as not to compromise his position. Once Voldemort seemed satisfied with the information that Severus was going to be feeding to Albus, he dismissed the meeting and stood, leaving the room and heading towards his study.

* * *

"Harry, Ron, have you both gotten packed yet?" Hermione questioned as she walked into their room. One glance around had her rolling her eyes. "Honestly you two, we are supposed to leave tomorrow morning don't leave packing until the last minute!" Hermione said with annoyance at the mess that was currently Harry and Ron's belongings.

"Don't worry Mi'one we will have everything packed before we go to bed tonight." Harry stated not looking up from the Quidditch book he was looking at.

"Why am I not surprised that you are reading about Quidditch and not a schoolbook?"

"Oi! Not all of us enjoy reading about the subjects we are going to be studying before we even get to school!" Ron said looking up from admiring his new broom for the hundredth time.

"Yes well you could at least skim through it. It wouldn't hurt and you'd be better prepared if you did." Hermione said crossing her arms. The trio heard chuckling coming from the doorway and turned to find Kankuro standing there with his arms crossed and a smirk gracing his features.

"She is right you know, those who study more than other's tend to have an advantage." He said as he strode into the room and sat down on Gaara's bed. "Also, we can put all this in your trunks easily. I promise they will be packed before supper is ready." He flashed a smile at Hermione who nodded once in approval.

"Very well, I will leave you to helping them then." Hermione said before turning and leaving the room closing the door behind her. Ron and Harry eyed Kankuro warily.

"Come on you two, time to get packed. Don't want to let Hermione down now do we?" Kankuro said smirking as he took out his wand. With a swish of his wand all of Ron's and Harry's things were folded and packed neatly into their trunks, minus of course their dirty laundry which was currently being washed.

"Thanks Kankuro!" Ron said smiling brightly.

"No problem, I was getting tired of seeing your things laying around anyways." Kankuro said smirking causing the red head to blush and Harry to roll his eyes at his cousin's antics. Ever since they had all gotten a bit closer, Kankuro's mischievous side had come out, he particularly liked teasing Ron simply because Ron's reaction's were always so priceless.

A few hours later found everyone gathered in the kitchen enjoying a hearty supper. Laughter was heard from the left end of the long table as Harry and the rest of the Hogwarts-bound group enjoyed some of George and Fred's antics. Meanwhile a serious yet quiet conversation could be heard at the far right end of the table. Severus Snape and Sirius Black sworn enemies-turned-co-godfathergodfather's were currently discussing the upcoming school year.

"Are you sure about this Snape?"

"I am, unforntunately Albus feels this is the ministry's way to keep an eye on Harry."

Sighing Sirius glanced down to where Harry sat next to Gaara. "If anything happens will you let me know? I want to do what I can, granted it isn't much considering Albus has some stupid mission he wants me to go on, yet hasn't bothered to tell me anything about it." Sneering slightly Sirius trailed off his concern showing clearly on his face.

"I will keep you up to date Black. I promised Harry that we would try to get along, this is me extending the olive branch further so to speak."

Sirius eyed Severus for a moment. "I appreciate that Snape. If anything happens let me know immediately. I know how cruel Umbridge can be, I remember her from before when I was an Auror. She is ruthless when it comes to things. I would not put it past her to target Harry and with his temper, I am worried she will do something to goad him."

"Maybe we should have a talk with him after supper?" Severus suggested as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. "As his godfather's it is only right we warn him."

"That is the best idea I have ever heard you come up with Snape."

"Did you really expect any different?" Severus drawled. A few snickers could be heard from the adults that could hear their conversation which caused Severus to glare at them. Things had changed quite a bit since the reading of Lily and James' will, the most prominent change being how much better Severus got along with Harry, Hermione, the Weasley's, Remus and yes even Sirius.

However he could not help but feel as if he was missing something important, as he looked at Harry and the three shinobi from the sand, he realized that there was something strange going on between them, to him, they seemed closer than they should be.

Deciding to put the question off until later he returned to his food as Sirius struck up a conversation with Remus.

Once dessert was finished Molly shooed all but Harry from the kitchen before leaving herself. She had heard Severus and Sirius' conversation over supper and took it upon herself to make sure that they could talk without interruption. Though Harry thought this strange, he was thankful to have that moment with them both.

* * *

"Okay wait, your telling me that the Ministry is sending in someone to watch me?"

"That's right, which means, do not lose control of your temper Harry, even if she says something to deliberately tick you off, hold your tongue." Sirius said.

"I will try. It's bad enough the entire school is going to be avoiding me or looking at me like I'm bonkers. I don't know how I'm supposed to avoid her too."

"Tell you what Harry, how would you like to have private lessons?" Severus questioned.

"Private lessons? For what?" Harry asked.

"Occlumency. It's the art of blocking one's mind." Severus replied. "I can teach you how to close your mind, it will help you with a lot of things including stopping the nightmares you sometimes have."

"You know about those?"

"I do."

"Wonderful." Sighing Harry started chewing on his bottom lip as he thought about Severus' offer. On the one hand it would be tiresome having to travel down to the dungeons for extra lessons, on the other hand, it would give him time with Severus, something that was rare due to the war and his position. Raising his head he met the obsidian eyes of his godfather, "I'll do it. Am I able to tell Ron and Hermione?"

"I think...that would be alright. It would get bothersome if they kept questioning what we was up too."

"What about Gaara and the others? I mean they are supposed to guard me right? Will one of them have to come along as well?"

"I wish I could say no but your safety is too important to have you wandering the halls on your own so you may ask one of them to accompany you." Severus replied.

"Okay, so when will we start?"

"I will summon you after the first week is over. We will discuss days and times to have the lessons. For anyone else that asks, you are doing extra lessons in Potion's to bring up your grade." Harry groaned and sat back, this year was shaping up to be as bad as the others and he wasn't even there yet! He ran a hand through his hair.

"You okay pup?" Sirius asked placing a cup of tea in front of his godson.

"I don't if I am or not. Everything just feels..." He trailed off.

"We understand pup, just remember that your not alone. You friends and you have a family that cares about you, that will stand beside you."

"I know, thanks." Harry said not looking up from his tea. A comfortable silence fell between them. Severus and Sirius exchanged knowing looks as Harry stayed staring at his tea. After a few more moments of silence Severus got up and walked around the table before sitting beside Harry and placing his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry listen, I know things are tough, I know how it is to feel isolated by everyone, if you need to talk, you can come to me or contact Sirius. We will listen and try to help you through it okay?"

Nodding Harry looked between the two before a small smile graced his features. "I have the best godfather's thank you both, truly."

"Not a problem pup. Come here." Sirius stood up and pulled Harry up on his feet and hugged him. "I will always be on your side pup." After he pulled away, Harry turned and wrapped his arms around Severus' waist. Shocked it took Severus a minute to return the hug, he was never one for being touched by anyone but, as he held his godson close, he felt that it would be alright to return it every now and then if it helped him.

"Alright brat get to bed, I will see you tomorrow." Severus said pulling back and ruffling Harry's hair a little.

"G'night Sirius, Severus." He left the kitchen and headed up to his room where he informed Ron and his two cousins of the new DADA teacher. They of course were worried just as much as he was. He promised to inform the other's tomorrow on the train, they got settled in their beds and after what felt like hours after the other's, Harry finally drifted off to sleep. He slept peacefully, no nightmare's or vision's for the first time since he could remember.

* * *

 **Hey guys sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. Well there you have it, Harry has extra lessons with Severus and a full school year to look forward to dealing with the Pink Toad Umbridge. If your wondering what mission Albus could have asked Sirius to go on, well you will just need to wait until the next chapter to find out xD In the meantime, here is the poll for the current pairings contest!**

 **Shikamaru/Ginny-3**

 **Kankuro/Hermione-8**

 **Shikamaru/Temari-9**

 **Gaara/Hermione-9**

 **Ron/Hermione-2**

 **Harry/Sakura-6**

 **Gaara/Luna-13**

 **Naruto/Harry-18**

 **Ron/Sakura-4**

 **Harry/Shikamaru-6**

 **Naruto-Gaara-1**

 **Kankuro-Ginny-3**

 **Neville/Luna-1**

 **Alright so that is the votes so far for the poll. I will be announcing the Final Poll in chapter 10 so please people cast your votes! Also, I will not be putting Harry with Gaara, Temari or Kankuro seeing that they are all related! Anywho thanks for your patience guys I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow! I can't believe that I have gotten over 200 followers! Thanks a bunch everyone. I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me! . Anyways, onto the chapter! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own either**

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and early for all that inhabited number twelve Grimmauld Place. Trunks were brought down to the bottom of the stairs as sleepy pairs of teens drug themselves out of bed, dressed and headed to the kitchen for a delicious yet quick breakfast. As soon as all were fed, Moody and a few other Order member's arrived to escort the group to the train station. After a quick organization on Molly's part, they left headquarters in small groups and proceeded to head towards the apparation point to arrive at King's Cross Station. Upon arriving they quickly made their way to the platform, most of the group were tense as they kept an eye on their surroundings.

The shinobi paired with a wizard or witch and entered onto the platform for the Hogwarts Express and like all first years, were impressed with the Scarlet train that sat waiting to be boarded. The group moved closely yet quickly to get to a door of the train where they loaded up their trunks and animals before stepping off to say good-bye to those who had escorted them.

Harry was given extra hugs by Molly, told to be good by Tonks and to stay out of trouble by Moody. Sirius hugged him extra long and told him not to let the other kids get to him, and to ignore the insults that were likely to come his way due to what the papers were printing about him.

Sooner than they would have liked, they boarded the train to find an empty compartment. In no time at all, they squeezed themselves into a compartment and settled in for the ride to school as the train took off. Once the platform was no longer in sight, they took to conversing among themselves.

A half hour passed before the twins bid the group good-bye to go find their friend Lee Jordan. Ginny also left to track down some of her friends leaving the compartment a little more roomy than before.

As the conversation flowed around him, Harry sat lost in thought, trying to figure out how to go about telling his friends about the extra lessons. Deciding to just come out and say it he got the groups attention and told them about the lessons.

"Occulmency? What's that?" Naruto questioned.

"It's the art of closing one's mind to those who wish to divulge information from it." Hermione answered without looking up from the book she was reading. The other's stared at her for a moment in silence until Naruto spoke up. "So it's like old man Yamanaka's ability then."

"You have someone that has the ability to enter someone's else mind?" Hermione questioned setting her book aside.

"I mean yeah but it's a clan only ability like how Shikamaru's clan has the shadow possession technique, the Uchiha has the fireball technique and so on and so forth." Naruto replied leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"So do you have anyone with the ability to block someone from entering their mind then?"

"Not that I know of, at least I haven't come across anyone before."

"I see." Was the only reply that Naruto received as Hermione picked her book back up and continued to read it. Meanwhile Harry rolled his eyes and got everyone's attention once more. "Basically I just need you guys to tell anyone who asks, that I have remedial potions with Professor Snape, there are too many students who come from Death Eater families and we don't want to blow Severus cover."

"Death Eater? You mean Moldy-shorts followers." Kankuro stated earning a few snickers from Ron and Naruto, even Harry cracked a smile at the use of the mad wizard's name.

"Exactly." Came the reply once the snickering had stopped.

"You do not need to concern yourself so much Harry, we are nothing but subtle, it is something that we are trained to be when becoming shinobi." Gaara stated softly from beside Temari.

"Yeah baby cousin, you do not need to worry yourself so much." Temari piped up and said causing Harry to blush slightly at the term of endearment that Temari had taken to calling him. Something that none of the guys except maybe Shikamaru and Gaara let him live down since she had started calling him it.

"Seaking of your familial relations Harry, I think it is best that you keep your relationship with Gaara, Temari and Kankuro a secret for now." Hermione said putting her book aside again.

"Why would he do that?" Ron asked looking at Hermione as if she had grown another head.

"Because Ronald, it would just give everyone another reason to talk about him. Ontop of everything that the papers have printed about him I just feel that it's best to keep their relationship with him a secret for awhile. Especially because of the ministry sending someone to teach at the school."

"Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense." Ron replied blushing a little.

"So what do you guys think? Keeping your relationship a secret, at least in a public setting?" Hermione questioned the sand siblings which after sharing a look agreed immediately. The rest of the afternoon was spent either playing wizard's chess, reading (which only Hermione did) or conversing among themselves. It wasn't until they were almost to Hogsmeade and had changed into their school robes that Harry realized that Draco Malfoy had not come in search of him. Something he was both worried about for it was out of character and grateful for at the same time.

Upon arriving at the station and all the way up to the school, the sand siblings flanked Harry on all three sides, with Hermione and Ron walking in front of him. It might have seemed strange but Harry did not take notice, he was involved in an animated discussion with Kankuro about different aspects of the castle, one that Naruto and Temari enjoyed taking a part of. Gaara noticed of course and immediately shot anyone a look that he had perfected in his life at a young age, one that made people stop in their tracks and want to run and hide in hopes of never being found.

As they entered the great hall and separated, the shinobi followed the group of first years to the front to be "sorted officially" while Harry, Ron and Hermione took their seats at the Gryffindor table followed by Neville, Ginny and the twins. They sat quietly waiting for all of the first years to be sorted, cheering when one got added to their own house. Soon, it was time to sort the group of shinobi but of course not before Albus made the introductions.

"Welcome to all the new students, and welcome back to the all the old students. Now before we divulge into our lovely feast I would like to introduce a group of exchange students from Japan, they will be sorted as first years are sorted but will be in fifth year. I want you all to make them feel welcome and help them out to the best of your abilities."

After the shinobi had been sorted, Harry focused on the staff table as Dumbledore made the yearly announcements and almost yelped in shock. It was bad enough that his expression caused those around him to follow his line of sight. To see Sirius Black sitting at the staff table and conversing quietly with Severus Snape, to those who knew them before and after the revelation of their shared godfather responsibilities, it was quite a sight to see. Most of the staff were shooting the two curious looks as Severus bobbed his head slightly in acknowledgement of something that Sirius stated and caused said male to chuckle.

"I guess now we know what job he had taken." Hermione stated as she dug into the food that appeared on the table as they were all staring at the staff table. Harry, feeling a tad bit better knowing that Sirius was at not out doing whatever dangerous task Dumbledore could have cooked up for him to do agreed quickly as he too dug into the food with the others following suit. As they ate, Hermione kept glancing up at the staff table, after the first few times Kankuro who had noticed got her attention.

"Why do you keep looking up at the staff table Hermione?" Kankuro questioned her causing the others to look at Hermione as well.

"I was looking at the new Professor sitting next to Professor Flitwick." Hermione replied nodding once towards the staff table at which point the others turned to look at who was sitting next to the short charms professor. "That's Delores Umbridge, she works for Fudge." Neville said speaking low enough that only their group could hear.

"You don't think she is the new Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor do you?" Harry questioned his brow furrowing with worry.

"Possibly, but why would Sirius be here then?" Ron questioned.

"Wait where is Hagrid?" Harry observed as he took to looking at the staff table as a whole. The others took to looking as well not that there was much need for it, Hagrid being as big as he is, is not hard to miss, normally. Worry set in for their large friend as they returned to their meal, conversing quietly so as not to be overheard those around them. All to soon the meal ended and Dumbledore stood up once more to address the student body.

"What a wonderful feast, I would like to remind all older years and all new students that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all of you. I would like to take a moment to welcome three new professor's this year, first Professor Sirius Black will be taking care of Care of Magical Creatures until the time that Professor Hagrid returns, the next is Professor Haruki Yamato, he will be introducing a new class this year, Japanese History. I hope you all will enjoy his class and this fascinating culture that makes up the magical community over there and lastly our new Defense the Dark Arts Teacher will be Madam Delores Umbridge. I hope you all will find her classes enlightening.." At this point he was interrupted by a small "hem hem." All eyes in the great hall turned to see that Professor Umbridge had stood and was currently walking around the staff table, a small smile plastered on her toad like face.

Dumbledore nodded once before sitting down and clasping his hands together and resting his head on them. "Hem Hem, Thank you Headmaster for those warm words of welcome." As the students and staff listened to Professor Umbridge, some who understood exactly what she was saying got looks of outrage on their faces, fists were clenched and frowns appeared on the faces of many throughout the Great Hall.

Kankuro leaned forward and looked at Hermione. "You understand what she's saying correct?"

"I do. The Ministry is not just sending someone to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class they plan on having her spy about the state of things here at Hogwarts. It's outrageous! The whole point of having School Governor's is to keep the Ministry out of school affairs!" Hermione whispered to those around her. Gaara's eyes flashed briefly and his nostrils flared, "I will be informing Kakashi of this as well as speaking with Albus, there was no mention of us having to deal with government issues." The others exchanged looks before turning their attention back to the staff table in time to hear Dumbledore dismiss the students to the dormitories.

Ron and Hermione bid the others goodbye to direct the first years to the Gryffindor common room. Sighing Harry stood and beckoned the others, showing Naruto, Gaara and Kankuro the way to common room as well. Meanwhile, Sakura followed the Hufflepuffs and Temari and Shikamaru joined the Ravenclaws.

As everyone settled down to rest that night, Harry sighed softly. The confrontation with Seamus replaying in his mind. Closing his eyes he rolled over and wished for the first time in since he had started at Hogwarts that he was somewhere else.

* * *

 **Hey everyone i wanted to apologize for how long it took me to update this chapter as well as how short it is. to be completely honest, so much has happened lately that i just lost my inspiration for this story and hit a huge writers block that i am hoping i can get through. this chapter is not what i had envisioned and i will probably go back and redo it once i can get back into the groove of this story. i also wanted to say that as far as the pairings go, the voting is now closed. and the couples will be announced at the beginning of chapter 10 as soon as i can get an idea of how to write that chapter.**

 **Normally i do not ask this of my readers but if any of you have any ideas of what should be told in the next chapter or even added onto this one, please feel free to message me with the idea and i will reply at some point over the next couple of days, and hopefully one of your ideas will help me get over this infuriating writers block. I am thinking about starting a new story and putting this one on a hiatus for a short period of time in hopes that i can get some inspiration for this story if I cannot get over it by using one of your idea's.**

 **That being said if i do choose to start a new story, it will be a severus snape fan fic and i already have an idea of what the plot will be and was hoping to see what you, as my readers think of it, the title will be "A Raven's Song" If you like the idea of a severus snape fan fic please feel free to message or comment letting me know, i do have one that i am taking and reposting to here from another site but seeing as that is already written and just needs editing before i post new chapters, its not much of a challenge lol. Anywho, i am done rambling, i hope to hear from you soon and hope this chapter is somewhat worth your time reading it (though its not what i was hoping it'd be).**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys so here is chapter 10 i will be posting the pairings at the end of the chapter. I wanna take a moment and address that once again this is not a canon fic. yes alot of the story will have some of the same things from canon HP but for the most part, this is all me. I do love that people voice their opinions but please at least keep an open mind.**

 **Anyways i hope this chapter comes better than last chapter. now then onto the story! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own either.**

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September and half of October passed and though Harry had been subjected to stares and whispers from his peers during his previous school years, it did nothing to soothe the anger that he was beginning to feel. It did not help that the _Daily Prophet_ had been painting him in a negative light since the end of last year. Even within his own house, he was talked about though they refrained from sending him glares or staring at him for too long, something he suspected Gaara, Kankuro and Naruto had to do with, not that he could prove it. He found that spending time in the dungeons with his Potions Professor either practicing Occulmency or brewing potions helped him stay calm. He also spent time with Sirius whenever he could find time between his classes, homework, Quidditch Practice, and the lessons with his Potions Professor.

Sighing and somewhat relaxing, Harry leaned his head back against the headrest of the chair he was currently occupying in the common room. His eyes close as the conversation of his peers surrounded him.

"Have you all adjusted to being here yet?" Ron questioned chewing on a sugar quill.

"I suppose, the nightly patrols that we do have helped us learn the castle quicker than what most new students probably learn." Naruto mused.

"Yes well you all have a job to do, it is probably expected of you to patrol." Hermione replied not looking up from the parchment she was currently writing on.

"What's this Hogsmeade weekend that I keep hearing about?" Kankuro questioned as he leaned back against the couch.

"It's a trip to Hogsmeade village for all third years and above, a way for students to get out and have a little bit of fun." Hermione once again replied.

"Do you think that is wise with Voldemort out there?" Naruto questioned.

"Probably not but he would be stupid to try and attack right now, he does not want to alert anyone to the fact that he is back. With the wizarding community denying his return, he is able to move freely and build up his army." George stated sitting down next to Ron on the couch.

"George is right. We overheard the adults talking one night back at headquarters before you lot arrived. With the Ministry denying his return, he can gather his ranks and do as he pleases. The fact that they are trying to explain away any deaths muggle or otherwise just proves how desperate Fudge is to deny it." Fred commented. "But let's not talk about all that the most we need to be worrying about is our schoolwork and avoiding Umbridge."

Harry snorted at that and opened his eyes. "Yeah like that is possible. She is constantly watching our every move and that of the teachers."

"Oh Harry you really need to not let her get to you." Hermione said looking up at him.

"It's not like I am purposely doing it, I just can't help myself with her. It's like she purposely says things to get a reaction out of me."

"All the more reason...Harry what's that on the back of your hand?" Hermione questioned standing up and walking over to where Harry sat.

"Nothing." He said quickly pulling his sleeve down. Grabbing his hand Hermione pushed his sleeve up exposing his hand and the writing on the back of it.

 _I must not tell lies_

"Harry is this from the detentions you have been having with Umbridge?"

"It's not a big deal Mione."

"Harry yes it is, Blood Quills are against the law! They are right up there with Unforgivables! You have to report this."

"No, I am not going to report it, they wouldn't believe me anyway. Professor McGonagall told me to keep my head down when I went to her before." He yanked his hand away and stood up. "Just leave it be, It'll heal up in a few days, I just need to try not to let her get to me that's all." With that he left the common room and headed for his bed in the dorm he shared with Ron and the other boys in his year.

Sighing Hermione sat down and wiped the tears away that were threatening to spill. "We can't let her get away with it, I wonder how many other students have been subjected to that in her detentions."

"How did you know what it was that she was using Hermione?" Fred asked.

Blushing slightly Hermione sighed. "I read some of the books at Headquarter's, about Wizarding laws and such. Though the Black library is mostly dark...Anyways I read about them. They used to be used as a torture device."

"Of course you read about them." Ron muttered before looking around at the group. "I say we report it, it's not legal."

"Or just let us handle it." Gaara said softly. Seeing his baby cousin being tortured in that manner had caused his protective side to awaken. "We can make sure that she never hurts another student." He smirked before standing up and leaving the common room as well via the portrait hole the others staring after him.

"I almost feel sorry for her." Kankuro said smirking.

"Why?" Ron questioned.

"Gaara is one of the most dangerous people I know. Especially when it comes to the people he cares about being hurt." Naruto spoke softly sharing a look with the older Sand Sibling. "We will just have to wait and see what he has planned for her."

"Anyway we can help?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, Harry is like family to us." George agreed.

"That is something you will need to ask Gaara." Kankuro stated stretching. The twins nodded before leaving through the portrait hole as well to track down their redheaded friend.

"I'll go see if I can't talk to Harry." Ron stated standing.

"Mind if I join you?" Naruto said following after Ron as he made his way to the dormitory. With everyone else gone, Hermione sighed and packed up her things back into her bag knowing that she wouldn't be able to focus on her homework.

"You know that he will be okay right?" Kankuro said standing and walking over to where Hermione stood tears running silently down her face. She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. She felt hopeless, her best friend was hurting and there was nothing she could do to help him. She understood somewhat what it felt like to be made an outcast, before coming to Hogwarts she had no friends and for awhile even after finding out that she was a witch and was introduced to the world of magic, she had been alone until the night that Harry and Ron had saved her from that troll during their first year.

"I just feel so hopeless. I don't know what to do to help him."

"You know, Gaara and Naruto both used to be in a similar situation as Harry, constantly being talked about and judged for something out of their control but with the right support, they realized that they weren't alone, not truly. All you can do is to be there for him even if it's silently. He will come to see that he doesn't have to face all of this alone." Kankuro stated softly and brushed a few Hermione's tears away.

"Thanks Kankuro. I guess I needed to hear that." Hermione said smiling sadly and wiping the rest of her tears away before finding herself enveloped in the arms of said shinobi in a comforting hug.

"It's no problem Hermione, if you ever need to talk, I'm always here to listen." Kankuro said before stepping back and heading up the stairs to his own dormitory that he shared with Naruto and Gaara leaving a stunned Hermione standing beside the dying fire, because really, in the two months that she had known him, aside from the playfulness that he showed, she had never seen him hug anyone, not even his own siblings.

* * *

 **A week later**

"You know you really shouldn't let them help."

"Why is that Temari?" Gaara questioned from his perch on the rafters watching Delores terrorize some first year students.

"They could get expelled from school if they get caught."

"That won't happen. I have spoken to them in length about being subtle. She won't know who is responsible for it."

"Hmm well just be careful. On another note, Hermione has found that room that she spoke with us about during summer."

"When shall we start teaching them then?"

"I am unsure, I was going to discuss it with you and the others. Hermione and I got to talking about possibly starting a defense group for learning the things that Umbridge isn't teaching in class."

"So a practical lesson group then."

"Yes. She thinks that Harry would be the best because of all the times in the past he has had to face Voldemort or for instance Dementors, i think that is what she called them, anyways according to her, our baby cousin knows more about fighting against them than anyone else in their year."

"I don't know if I should feel relieved by that or not."

"I know what you mean, when she told me all that our baby cousin has gone through the last four years, I had a strong urge to steal him away from this place and let Albus and his followers face Voldemort." Temari stated snorting.

"As much as I am inclined to agree with you, we cannot, he has people he cares about here. Just like we do back home." Gaara said softly before holding his hand up to stop her from replying and motioning to someone hidden in an alcove not to far from where he was perched. Lowering his voice he addressed her again. "This is where the fun begins."

* * *

 **A few days later (after Gaara and Temari talk)**

"Snape we need to talk, now."

"Unless it is about Harry I do not appreciate you barging in here mutt." Snape snarled barely glancing up at the man before him. It did not matter that they had come to a truce or were civil towards each other for the sake of their godson, he did not care for Black and never would. He merely tolerated the man for Harry's sake.

"I wouldn't willingly be here otherwise Snape." Sirius stated just as coldly.

"Then spill. I have papers to grade and have to prepare for Harry's lesson tomorrow night as well."

Sighing Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "I am concerned for him. He is starting to push the others away, his friends, his cousins, he isn't even speaking to me about what is bothering him, every time I ask he shuts down and makes up a reason to leave quickly."

"I see. And this is my concern how?"

"You have been in his shoes Snape, as much as I hate to admit it, you may be the only one who can get through to him! He needs to know that he isn't alone."

"There is nothing to be done Black, he will open up when he is ready to push him now would do nothing but cause him to close down even more. Or are you too stupid to know that?" Snape snarled standing up and walking around his desk. He had a very bad week so far, he had dealt with students in all of his first through third year classes blowing up a cauldron or two, been summoned by both Albus and the Dark Lord, been put under the Cruciatus Curse and he was not in the mood to deal with someone who he greatly disliked.

Sighing Sirius crossed his arms across his chest. "I know that Snape but I hate seeing him this way. He is sinking into depression! The more that is printed about him and the more Umbridge attacks him and his peers judge him and make fun of him the more he pulls away from everybody. How can you sit there and just pretend that you don't see it?"

"I see it and I am helping him the best I can by helping him occlude his mind. The sooner he grasps it the sooner he can learn to push those feelings aside. It is not the best option but until the truth comes out and the world sees that he has been speaking the truth this whole time, there is nothing else to be done. He will come to us and talk to us when he is ready and if not us then one of his friends."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not but I also know as you so kindly pointed out, I know what is it like to be made fun of and judged. He is a strong person Sirius, he has been through so much that he struggles to find his place in the world. This is a difficult time for any teenager but especially him. He is being thrust into the center of this war even if we don't want him to be."

Running his hands through his hair Sirius took a seat at one of the tables. "I know that he is and you are right, I wish we could stop it. Stop him from being thrust into the middle, but I can't. I think what gets him the most is that there is so much information being withheld from him."

"Albus feels it's best. He feels Harry is not ready to carry all that is going on outside of what he already knows and what he has to focus on."

"That may be true but is there honestly nothing that we can do?"

"Aside from Occlumency? Maybe teaching him how to defend himself?"

"You mean, teach him how to duel against Voldemort's forces?" Sirius gazed up at the surely Potion's Master curiously. It did have it's merits, maybe if they taught Harry and even some of his friends how to duel, how to defend themselves then maybe, just maybe Harry would come out of the depression he was watching him fall into.

"Exactly like that. That toad isn't teaching them anything worthwhile, I have been tossing around the idea for awhile now. Though I do not recommend doing it before Halloween." Snape replied leaning against his desk.

"I can agree to that. Shall we approach him with the idea after the first Hogsmeade weekend then?"

"Before. We can plan the lessons around Quidditch, his normal classes and his Occlumency lessons."

"How are those going by the way." Sirius questioned.

"He is able to block most of his thoughts now. Though I can still enter his mind with no problem. He is working on building up his defenses. Last time I entered, he had created a forest with a meadow in the center of it."

"I see. I will take my leave then. I have an afternoon class to attend to."

"Very well." Severus watched as Black left and sighed softly. This year was turning out to be a very long year and to make matters worse, he was pretty sure that Delores Umbridge was using some sort of torture device on students that had detention with her, he just wasn't able to prove it. Returning to his desk he turned his attention back to the papers that were waiting to be graded, smirking he wrote a big T at the top of the paper.

Students never really did grasp the concept of how much their textbook could help them with getting better grades than what they normally got.

* * *

 **Hey guys so here is chapter 10, I hope you all enjoyed it! It is time to post the results of the poll. The results are as follows.**

 **Shika/Temari-20**

 **Kankuro/Hermione-13**

 **Gaara/Luna-21**

 **Naruto/Harry-32**

 **Ron/Sakura-7**

 **I know there was alot more options but these are the ones that got the most votes. That being said, I would still like to Pair Ginny up with somebody and I know who but he won't be joining until at least chapter 12 if not later. Feel free to guess who it is that I'll be bringing in, I won't reveal it though :P**

 **So far it seems that as long as Sirius and Severus have Harry in common, they can indeed carry on a civil conversation and even make plans to help Harry out. And before anyone makes a comment, yes I know Canon Gaara wouldn't prank anybody BUT since this is not canon, he is going to join George and Fred in tormenting Umbridge. And no i don't feel bad about it at all :D She is a horrible person who deserves so much worse.**

 **I want to take a moment to thank TrenchCoatMan for giving me some ideas for this chapter. I do plan on bringing in Kurama soon so don't worry guys! Our favorite Tailed Beast will be making an appearance!**


	11. Chapter 11

"M'Lord, I have brought news from Yaxley." Lucius Malfoy dropped to one knee as he entered the parlor room of his mansion where Voldemort stood facing the fireplace, his familiar Nagini draped across his shoulders as if she were a cloak.

"What news has he sent Lucius?"

"He has been able to partially convince some of the giants to join our side. From what he has sent, they are being extremely difficult to convince and he is almost out of the gifts he had taken." Lucius spoke quickly yet softly.

"I see." Silence fellbetween them and yet Lucius made no move to retreat knowing that such action would earn him a session of torture from his lord. He found himself many times wondering if continuing to serve the man before him was really the best for his family. Over the years since the dark wizard's defeat at the hands of Lily Evans and Her infant son, he would spend many nights locked in his office comparing the differences between the life he had built after His Lord's fall and the one he led before that. Pushing those thoughts away, he redirected his attention on the man before him, focusing and waiting for the next order's he would receive.

"Lucius, send word to Yaxley to continue his efforts as well as sending him more gifts for the Giant king. Tell him I want more than just a few by the time the end of Decemeber comes. I am giving him that long to get at least five on our side if not more. Failure is not an option." He spoke low and quick, his mind full of thoughts of the plans he had. Before dismissing his follower he turned to stare upon the blonde haired aristocrat.

"Lucius, is Dumbledore still posting his Order members at the door in the department of mysteries?"

"He is my Lord. Though I have been able to put one of the Unspeakable's under the Imperius earlier this evening. He will gather the information we need about the prophecy M'Lord. Once he has it, he will report his findings back to me. Hopefully by Christmas it will be within our hands."

"Excellent. Stand Lucius."

Lucius did so and looked directly into the red eyes of his master.

"Do not fail me in this Lucius, I want that prophecy. We will resort to any means necessary to obtain it." Voldemort paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, his red eyes never leaving those of his loyal follower. "I must admit Lucius, your actions since I have returned has been extremely pleasing to me."

"Thank you M'Lord." Lucius replied bowing slightly. "I only aim to please you M'Lord."

"See that you continue to do so, fail me and the consequences will be..severe." With that he turned his back once again on the man before him. Recognizing the wordless order to leave, Lucius bowed once more as he backed up towards the door before turning and making a quick exit heading for his office where he would send word to Yaxley and Dolohov with the orders from their Lord. He just hoped that they were successful, otherwise he would be punished right alongside them.

* * *

"Harry we need to talk." Hermione said sitting down next to her best friend in the library with Ron and Temari following and taking a seat as well.

"What about?" Harry questioned barely looking up from his Transfiguration Homework. Before Hermione could answer Shikamaru joined them sliding into the seat next to Temari and flashing her a small smile which she returned. "I found the ROR Harry and aside from Temari and them teaching us about channeling our magic using hand signs like they do with their chakra, we think that it'd beneficial to have a Defense group where we actually learn spells and how to defend ourselves since Umbridge isn't."

Harry looked up and studied the group around him. "It sounds like a good idea, maybe we can get Sirius to teach us or even Snape."

"Professor Black and Professor Snape Harry, and actually we were kind of hoping that you would teach us."

He stared at the four, at the hopeful expression's and sighed. "No, absolutely not Hermione. If it was just you and Ron and the rest of the Weasleys, I might but no, everybody already thinks I'm a nutter, nobody will want to learn from me."

"Harry come on mate, your the only one that we can ask." Ron said quietly.

"No. Alright? Hermione your the brightest witch of the age, you know more spells than I probably do. If anyone should be teaching this group, it should be you, not me." Harry said as he gathered up his things. "I refuse."

"Will you at least think about it Harry?" Hermione said stopping him from standing. Sighing he looked at the hopeful expressions on each of their faces.

"Fine. I'll think about it, but no promises." With that he got up and left the library, hoping to find someplace that he could just be alone.

"Do you really think that he will teach us?" Temari questioned quietly.

"I think he will, just give him time to think about it. Forcing him to do something that he doesn't want to do, or badgering him about it, will most likely make him do the opposite." A voice from behind said causing Hermione and Ron to jump but Temari and Shikamaru to smirk slightly. Yamato stepped from behind the bookshelf he had been standing at browsing.

"How do you know that?" Ron questioned eyeing the older shinobi suspiciously. Smiling Yamato let out a soft chuckle. "Harry reminds me of someone I knew when he was younger, granted he has changed, not much but still, Harry reminds me of him so yes I believe he will do it, just as long as you do not bug him about it." With that Yamato turned and left the library leaving a curious Ron and Hermione and a smirking Temari and Shikamaru behind.

* * *

 **Two nights before Halloween**

"Albus, we have a problem." Severus said not even bothering with a proper greeting as he swooped into the Headmaster's office. He stopped though and narrowed his eyes. There standing across from the Headmaster was Gaara as well as Naruto, both looking more serious than Snape had ever seen them.

"Just a moment Severus." Dumbledore said before addressing the two before him once more. "Send word if you must, ask Kakashi what he thinks and if he feels it is a must then I will agree to it. Keep a closer eye on him as well if you would please."

"Yes Headmaster." Gaara said swiftly before bowing and leaving the office with Naruto trailing behind him. Smiling at his potion's master Albus sat back in his chair and addressed him.

"What can I help you with my boy?" Albus said reaching for a lemon drop in the bowl that was sitting on his desk. Sighing Severus took the seat in front of the older man. "It's Harry Albus, he is pushing his friends away, he is easy to go off on his friends, he has landed himself in detention with Umbridge once again! I have tried to speak to him so has Black but he refuses to tell us what is on his mind."

"Hmm, would you like to me speak to him? I dare say it probably wouldn't do much good but I can always attempt to."

"I honestly do not know what the best option is Albus. Something has to be done, he will suffer more if he doesn't open up to those of us who care about him."

"Maybe he is just having trouble doing that?" Albus suggested. "He may feel as if he will be judged more than he already is. He could very well be afraid."

"Then what do you propose we do Albus?"

"Talk to Harry, tell him of your past."

"What? Why?"

"You share a similar childhood with him Severus as well as the fact that the Wizarding world refuses to truly acknowledge the sacrifices you have had to make, during the last war and this one. You out of all of us can relate to him, show him that and I have a feeling that he will open up to you."

"If you say so Albus." Severus stood. "I also would like to take over Umbridge's detentions for her that she has assigned Harry. I could use that time to teach him how to duel, Black has approached him about teaching him more spells but he doesn't know how Voldemort's followers duel, it is important that he learns." He started pacing back and forth. "They are ruthless, some more so than others, if he is going to have face them then he needs to learn how to fight them."

"You make a valid point Severus, I will see what I can do about convincing Umbridge to relinquish his detentions to you, if not then you will have to find another way."

"Very Well Albus." Severus turned and swept from the office, his mind already on the techniques that he would be teaching Harry, a lesson plan forming as we made his way to his office in the Dungeons.

* * *

 **Hey guys sorry for the late update. Things have been kind of hectic around here lately. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. The next chapter may not be posted as quickly as I would like, may not be posted til the week after next week but we will see. I will be doing a time skip as well as a possible flashback at some point in the near future. I have yet to decide but on that note I have been thinking about having a Beta I have never had one before and am not entirely sure how to go about it.**

 **I am looking for someone who can help me edit the chapters, fixing any grammer errors I have missed as well as someone who I can bounce ideas off of. If you know how I can go about getting a beta, please message me and let me know or if you are interested in being a Beta for this story I would greatly appreciate it if you let me know.**

 **I am also thinking about starting a new story, I know crazy considering I have hit so many writer's blocks with this one but maybe it'll help me in the long run. I will let you know if I do decide to start a new story and the title of it. Anyways thanks for all the support guys, I really love hearing back from all of the people who follow this story! I can't believe I have reached halfway to 300 followers! See you guys soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone sorry for the long delay in between the updates. I have been busy with real unfortunately. Anyways, I wanted to once again address the reasoning behind why certain characters are not as they normally are in the original stories. For Temari yes I know she is more tom-boyish and a badass ninja to boot but for the sake of the mission they are on, she has to blend in well with the school population therefore seeing her giggling with a group of girls is something that I personally think she would do to "blend in" nobody other than the Order Members, Harry and his group of friends and a select few on the staff are supposed to know that they are in Fact Shinobi with a history of killing. The same goes for Gaara, yes he is as serious as they come, yes he is more of the Stab-Happy Variety but he cant exactly show that side of him either even if it is to rid the school of Umbridge. Dont worry though, there will be time for that to happen. *Wink Wink* She will no doubtly meet a very horrific end for all the crimes she will commit.**

 **As for Sirius and his trial, the reaction from not only the students and the staff, that is coming. All of it. Though I haven't updated til now, I have spent some time thinking of how to incorporate it all into the story, and this next chapter will hopefully ease some of your concerns in aspect of that. I am completely thankful to all who have Followed/Fav'd and reviewed for this story. It means so much to me! I am still looking for a BETA so if anyone is interested PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact me! I look forward to hearing from all of you! Thanks a bunch!**

* * *

Two months had passed since the beginning of the school year and as the sun rose over the horizon of Hogsmeade in the early morning of November 12th, students stirred in the grand castle that was Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In one of the highest towers, Harry descended the stairs from the dorm he shared with his fellow fifth years as well as his cousins and Naruto. The room had been expanded to accommodate the three extra beds and their belongings.

Sighing he exited the Gryffindor Common Room and walked through the mostly empty halls of the school. Since arriving in the Wizarding world and Hogwarts he had felt more at home than he ever had at The Dursleys, something that he had accepted long ago. Now though, he wasn't so sure. This year so far had proved taxing for his nerves and patience. Sure he had read the articles about him over the summer, he had accepted what Naruto had told him that one morning in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, he had even used those words as a means of comfort as well as a barrier to what had been printed about him. It was easy then to do so, but being back in the first place he had felt at home, it wasn't as easy. Not with the whispers surrounding him, the pointing and the detentions he suffered through with Umbridge.

He entered the Great Hall and took a seat at the Gryffindor Table without even really pay attention to where his feet had taken him. Though he did not have much of an appetite, he resolved to eat as much as he could stomach on a daily basis so as not to cause anyone to worry about him. So that's what he did, he ate some breakfast then left the Great Hall before anyone could stop him. He knew he was being stupid and childish to ignore those around him, he knew it was pointless that he did so but he couldn't bring himself to care at that moment in time.

Thanks to the missive that Naruto had received from the leader of his village, the pranks had stopped all together against Umbridge which did nothing but renew her vicious nature against Harry. She had gone as far as seeking him out in between classes and afterwards in hopes of catching him doing something just so she could give him detention. According to what he had been told the night before Halloween, someone else from the Shinobi world would be coming to join the others. It was because of this missive that Gaara and Naruto had stopped involving themselves in the pranks, that however did not stop Fred and George. They had kept up the constant pranks played to try and distract Umbridge, which was not as effective as they had hoped. Harry allowed a small smile to grace his features momentarily before it disappeared.

No, instead it did nothing but make her more angry and she vowed to find the culprits behind the pranks before the Holidays. Her efforts were fruitless of course, not that it deterred her any. Instead, she focused her annoyance on Harry, trying to assign him as many detentions as she could get by with. His hand still smarted after the last one, which he had to admit could have been avoided if he had controlled his temper, but that had not been the case.

Rubbing his hand, he walked aimlessly through the halls until he found himself in the Owlry. It had proved to be a place of peace for him last year and in second year when he was under scrutiny from his peers. He spotted Hedwig and whistled for her to join him at one of the windows that overlooked the grounds, something that she did immediately. She had always been a source of comfort for him, the long summer days stuck with The Durlseys and their hatred. He had confessed all of his feelings to her over the last four years of his life and he continued to do so now, even though she couldn't answer him, she listened and was always there to do what she could to offer the comfort he had never had growing up, even if it was just hooting at him or nipping him lovingly like she did.

As he stared over the grounds and ran his hand down her back he softly spoke his worries to her. "I don't know what to do girl, Hermione and the others want me to train them in defense, to teach them to defend themselves against Voldemort and his forces but I don't think I can. All the time's I have faced him, I barely scraped by, I always had some kind of help and I was lucky to escape him. I'm not some hero like everyone thinks I am. I'm really not."

Hedwig sat listening her amber eyes wide as he stroked her back. She hooted softly as if she understood what he was saying.

"I know I probably sound pathetic but I just want it all to be over. The things that the Daily Prophet are printing are making me look like I'm a liar about Voldemort being back, like I have nothing better to do than lie and draw more attention to myself. How am I to deal with it? It was easy you know, over the summer, being away from the eyes of everyone here, being surrounded by my friends and family and the Order." Sighing he stroke Hedwig on her chest as he divulged his feelings to her. Her silent companionship helped calm him, he was so caught up in revealing what he felt to her about everything and things that had been on his mind that he did not notice the two men standing in the doorway of the Owlry. They exchanged looks before stepping in and gaining his attention.

"Harry?" Then teen looked up in surprise before his face went into a neutral expression. "Hey Sirius, Severus. What are you two doing here?"

"Looking for you of course." Sirius replied stepping up and leaning against the wall while Severus stopped before them and crossed his arms across his chest.

"What were looking for me about? Is something wrong?"

"In a manner of speaking." Severus replied before putting his hand up to stop whatever it was that Harry was about to say. "Before you freak out, everyone in the Order is fine, nobody has been hurt. We came in search of you to speak with you about offering you defense lessons, you need to learn how to fight The Dark Lord's forces, they are ruthless."

"So you guys want to train me?"

"We do pup. Severus can teach you how to defend yourself against the Death Eaters, he knows how they fight, meanwhile I can teach you the different spells that I know that would be helpful in the case of a duel. Severus will also be teaching you different spells that he knows."

"You two are going to work together to teach me how to fight? Really?"

"Yes we are, now if your done questioning us, we need to pick a time for our lessons." Severus stated raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah okay. So when will these lessons take place?" Harry asked.

After they had picked a day for each over the weeks, Harry felt a tad bit calmer then he had before, knowing that he would be learning how to properly defend himself gave him a sense of hope, something that had been missing before. They all stood there for a moment together looking out of the window before Severus spoke once more. "Harry, we need to also about the way you've been pushing other's away."

Harry stiffened for a moment before he turned to look between the two of them. "There is nothing to talk about."

"Pup you know that's not true." Sirius said. "You've been avoiding your friends, spending more time alone than you have with them, they are worried..we are worried about you."

"There is nothing to worry about okay?" He felt angry, sighing he ran a hand through his hair before stepping away from them both. "There is nothing to talk about and nothing to worry about, I've just got a lot on my mind that's all, I need to go, got homework to do, see you two later." With that he turned and left, his mind full of things he couldn't bring himself to talk about.

"He's lying you know." Sirius said. "How can we reach him?"

"I have no idea." Sighing Severus uncrossed his arms looking at the man standing beside him. "He will come around when he is ready."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Black he and I are a lot alike, he has a hard time trusting anybody, he spent most of his life being treated no better than a house-elf..." Trailing off Severus turned and looked back out over the grounds. "Even with those he cares about, it's hard for him to open up to people about what's troubling him...I did not see it but now that I do...I can only hope that he will, that he knows that he isn't alone."

"Why can't he see that he hasn't been alone for the last four years though? After all the stuff he has been involved in with his friends he should know that he can trust them to be there for him, even confiding in you would be better than him trying to figure things out on his own!" Sirius threw his hands up in the air.

"Black if you took a minute and got your head out of your arse you'd realize that not everybody is so trusting so easily, he never had anybody to rely on before re-entering the Wizarding world and even then he has been treated as nothing more than a child! How can you expect him to trust so easily when he was alone for eleven years of his life?" Severus turned to look once again the man before him. "Think you damn mutt, he hasn't had an easy time of it...the sooner you realize it, the better you can help him."

He turned and left the owlry. He felt furious, furious on behalf on the young man he had come to know since the revelation of their relationship over the summer, how had he not seen it beforehand? Had his hatred for James really blind him so much that he couldn't see the signs of abuse? Though Harry had forgiven him...he couldn't forgive himself, not until he had finished making it up to his godson.

* * *

"Have you found him yet?" Hermione asked as she met up with the others in the entrance hall. The others shook their heads with worried expressions on their faces. Hermione, Ginny, Ron, the Twins, and the group of shinobi had been searching everywhere that they could think of for their missing friend since that morning when they woke to find that he was not in the common room or the Great Hall.

"Where could he have gone? We have checked everywhere!" Ron questioned throwing his hands up in the air.

"Not everywhere, what about the Owlry? Hedwig is up there wouldn't he go to visit her?" Kankuro asked.

"I think your right." Hermione said. "Not all of use needs to go there though, he might not talk if we crowd around him you know. They all nodded in agreement looking grim.

"I'll go." Naruto spoke up. "I think I might be able to convince him to train us ya'know?"

"How do you figure? He might not open up to you at all mate." Ron said. Naruto exchanged a glance with Kankuro and Gaara before replying. "Leave that to me, I'll bring him to the common room afterwards okay?" After a moment's hesitation they agreed and split off from Naruto leaving him to find their wayward friend.

 ** _"Kit, what do you plan on doing?"_**

 _"I don't know really Kurama. Got any suggestions?"_

 ** _"Depends, I've been watching kit, he's been abused you know that don't you?"_**

 _"Yeah, I noticed the signs." Looking up into the face of the nine-tails he ran a hand through his hair. "Think he trusts us?"_

 ** _"I don't think it has much to do with trust kit, if he was abuse and had nobody to help him, then he was alone like you were. Fending for himself, spending countless nights crying as a child."_**

 _"Hey! I did not cry!"_

 ** _Chuckling Kurama smirked. "If you say so kit. Maybe, you should share some of your past with him."_**

 _"You don't mean show him what I'm keeping secret do you?"_

 ** _"Not exactly kit, though at some point you will have to if you want him to trust you."_**

Naruto was silent as he walked through the halls of the school as he conversed with Kurama. Trust kurama to get to the heart of things, really it wasn't all that surprising.

 _"I would like to hold off on that as long as possible, just because I'm accepted now by the village doesn't mean Harry and everyone else will accept it."_

 ** _"I don't think you need to worry so much kit, you care about him, show him that and he will accept you and what we are."_**

 _"You really think so Kurama?"_

 ** _"I do. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you have been looking at him over the last month."_**

 _"Huh? What do you mean?"_

 ** _"Nevermind, just go talk to him, tell him about your past, he will understand and will open up to you kit."_** Kurama fell silent after that, allowing Naruto to return to the surroundings around him. He stopped for a moment when he spotted Harry standing in the hallway between where he stood and where the entrance to owlry was and watched him for a moment.

He noticed how Harry held himself. Hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped slightly and tensed. The look in his eyes of pain and loneliness, of being hopeless. The way his dark brown almost black hair swung forward as he bent his head and stared into space. He was lean Naruto notice, lean and muscular, the way he had put a tad bit of weight on over the summer made him look healthier now than he had when he had first met him. Studying the fifteen year old in front of him, he felt something stir in his stomach and chest, an ache that he somehow knew on a subconscious level, wasn't just concern for his friend, it was stronger than what he normally felt for his friends.

Not that Naruto really noticed that too much.

Walking up to stand beside Harry he leaned against the wall and looked out over the grounds as well. Neither said anything at first, both lost in their own thoughts though Naruto studied him out of the corner of his eye. His heart ached for him, he felt the need to protect the young man beside him. After a few more minutes, Naruto spoke. "When I was little...I used to pull pranks on people of Konoha just to be recognized."

Harry looked at him confused. "Why?"

"I was alone from the day I was born. My parents died protecting the village, they sacrificed themselves during the attack on our home to protect everyone and for some reason from that point on people in the village hated me. They avoided me, I had no friends, nobody to care for me except for old man third and even then he just handed me an envelope every month for food."

"Really?" Harry had turned his full attention onto Naruto as he listened but Naruto stayed looking out over the grounds.

"Yeah, it wasn't until I entered the academy that things changed, the teacher, Iruka-sensei was the first to see past what people claimed me to be. He showed me what it meant to be loved by someone for who I was as a person. Once I joined team 7, I ended up with three more people that I cared about. For a time their opinions didn't change much but eventually, they too became people who cared and accepted me, well except for Sasuke." Smiling softly he turned to look at Harry.

"How did you get them to change their opinions of you?"

"I never pretended to be something I wasn't and...I kept to my beliefs. As a child, I was alone and defenseless with nobody to protect me when I was ganged upon...it took awhile to learn to trust others but I never stopped believing in myself and what I stood for and I guess that's what did it for them. They saw past what they had saw previously, I proved I wasn't what they said I was and the bonds I had formed with others, they are important to me."

"Bonds?"

Naruto chuckled lightly. "Your my friend right Harry?" Harry nodded once. "Then we have a bond. I trust you and I hope that you trust me enough to know that you aren't alone, though you may feel like it, though the people around you may stare and whisper and talk and accuse you of lying, if you stick with your beliefs and lean on those closest to you..." Naruto trailed off as he stared into the emerald eyes that met his own blue. For a moment neither said a word then Naruto placed a hand on Harry's shoulder squeezing it once before pulling the younger male into a hug.

"No matter what they think, you are never alone and even if others abandon you, I will ALWAYS be here for you. If you need to talk to someone, I'm here." He stepped back from Harry and looked into the emerald eyes again, he could see the relief that Harry felt knowing that at least one person would always be there for him. He just hoped that it would be enough, that his words would be enough to help ease the pain that he knew Harry was facing.

"Come on, the others are waiting for us in the common room." Naruto said slinging his arm over Harry's shoulders leading him down the corridor. They were silent for a few minutes as they walked, each lost in their own thoughts. As they reached the fifth floor Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly before glancing at Naruto. "I think, I would like to take Hermione up on her offer to teach people how to defend themselves."

Naruto looked at him then a small smile playing on his face. "You do huh? What changed your mind?"

Harry looked around to make sure nobody was nearby before he spoke. "Sirius and Severus are going to be teaching how to defend myself better. I think it would be beneficial to teach others as well. There is a war brewing and I know that being prepared properly will make a difference, I just don't know how to go about convincing people to listen to me and make them believe that Voldemort really is back." He looked at the ground as he finished chewing on his bottom lip.

"We will figure it out when that time comes. First let's tell the others and figure out the details." Naruto replied. Harry nodded before he spoke up again.

"I wanted...I wanted to thank you Naruto." They had come to stand before the portrait of the Fat Lady without realizing it. Naruto looked at him. "For what?"

"For being here for me, for letting me know that there is at least someone who truly understands how hard it is to trust people, making me see that I am not alone even if I feel like I am." Harry shrugged.

"No need to thank me Harry." Naruto smiled then. "Besides, someone has to knock some sense into you." Chuckling Harry pushed him slightly before giving the fat lady the password and entering the common room. Naruto followed chuckling a little himself. They looked over to the fireplace to see their friends waiting on them.

"You okay mate?" Ron asked. Harry nodded glancing briefly at Naruto.

"Yeah I'm okay, sorry for making you guys worry."

"No need to apologize Harry." Hermione smiled softly and patted the open seat next to her. As Harry sat he took a look around the small group and a feeling of peace entered into his chest and settled like a warm blanket. Apart of him knew that it was always there to begin with but with how much he had been through this year already it had been hard for him to see it. He listened quietly to the conversation around him, his eyes lingering on each of their strange group until eventually he found himself looking at Naruto as if he was seeing him for the first time.

He studied the other male closely, he noticed things he had never paid much attention to before, the way his blonde hair seemed to frame his face perfectly, the way his blue eyes shined as he laughed, his lips were full and soft looking. At that thought Harry blushed slightly and looked down while a feeling he hadn't felt before settled in his stomach. Hermione must have noticed because she nudged him, "You okay Harry?"

"Yeah I'm okay, I was just thinking about something that's all." He paused before he continued, "I was doing some thinking and I think it would be a good idea to do a defense group, teach people how to defend themselves." By the time he was finished the rest of the group had stopped talking and was looking at him.

"Really?! That's great Harry what changed your mind?" Hermione asked smiling happily excitement shining brightly in her brown eyes. Chuckling a little Harry scratched the back of his head. "Actually it was Severus and Sirius, they are going to be teaching me spells and how to defend against death eaters as well. I figured that with them teaching me, it's only fair to try to teach others even if it is just our group." He shrugged as he trailed off.

"We will get others to join, I am sure of it. In the meantime let's figure out where to tell people to meet us so we can try to get a group together of students who would like to learn, there is the first Hogsmeade weekend coming up." Hermione trailed off thinking.

"Let's spread the word and tell people we each can trust, this has to remain a secret." Harry said softly looking at each of them in turn. They all nodded and the conversation that followed was of different ideas for the first official lesson among other things.

It was later that night while laying in bed that Harry allowed himself to return his thoughts to the way he had been studying Naruto earlier, he felt confused yet he felt himself blushing again. Sighing softly he turned and gazed out of the window willing those thoughts away, his life was much to complicated as it was to try and figure out why he was feeling things that were foreign to him.

* * *

"You sure this will help him Severus?"

"I do not know Albus but I must try something. The boy is pushing everyone away even more than before...I am hoping that with lessons from me and Black he will come around." Sighing Severus leaned forward in his chair placing his head in his hands. When he agreed to forge a relationship with Harry Potter due to their relationship as godfather and godson, he did not expect to grow to care for the boy quickly. In fact he had hoped that it would be a slow building relationship, one that would take awhile to foster any fatherly feelings he may end up having for the teen. Sadly, that had not been the case.

"All you can do is try Severus and what of Sirius? How has he adjusted to being on staff around the children and other staff members?"

"Why would I know? It's not like I keep tabs on the mutt Albus." Severus stated quickly.

"I know you spend more time with him than with anyone else Severus, between your shared duties as Harry's godfather's you have had to address each other with your concerns for the boy, I had hoped that you two would have become friends.."

Severus snorted while he sat back in his chair. "I tolerate him Albus, I will never be Black's friend. If it wasn't for Harry I wouldn't speak to him." Sighing again he entertwined his fingers together under his chin before continuing. "I will say that the students seem to have taken to him, the younger ones especially. As for the staff...all but Umbridge have welcomed him it seems."

"Ah yes well, Delores doesn't seem to like much of anyone really. Has Harry landed more detentions with her this week?"

"No, not that I am aware of. It seems as if he has finally learned not to let the woman get to him, though that is not to say that she doesn't try to goad him. From what Miss Granger told me, she is constantly on his case in class and outside of class. Is there nothing to be done Albus?"

The twinkling blue eyes dimmed slightly. "Unfortunately there is not, short of her torturing students I do not have the power to remove her. I fear Fudge is blind when it comes to madam Umbridge."

"So we are to sit back and do nothing then? Allow her to keep assigning detentions as she sees fits? And what of her being named High Inquistor? What is the Ministry thinking?"

"Alas that is the question. I believe they aren't thinking at all Severus. The fact remains my hands are tied. I cannot go against the whole School board and the parents themselves are supporting Fudge and Umbridge, all we can do for now is keep our heads down and hope for the best." Albus popped a lemon drop in his mouth as he studied his younger colleague. "On another note, has Voldemort called you recently?"

Flinching only slightly Severus crossed his legs before responding. "No not since the beginning of the school year. I believe he will call me soon though."

"Good then continue on as you have been. How are Harry's Occlumency lessons been going?"

"He is progressing...though not as fast as I had hoped. It's as if something is causing him to not be able to close his mind as he should. He has been able to build up walls but they are not strong enough to keep the Dark Lord out as of yet, it is my hope by Christmas that he can have his walls up to at least mild standard."

Sighing Albus stroked his beard. "Yes that is my hope as well." They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Severus stood.

"If there is nothing else Albus I think I will turn in for the night."

"Yes yes of course Severus, do let me know if Riddle calls for you."

"Of course Headmaster." With a bow of his and a sweep of his robes Severus left the Headmaster's office. His face impassive as he strode down the dark halls of the school.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys so i am unfortunately putting this story to the wayside. I for the life of me cannot even begin to get over this dang writer's block for this story. I am not entirely sure if it is because of things in life or because i have more ideas pertaining to my other story that is causing this lag in my muse for this story.**

 **This however does not mean I have given up on it, it just means that for now at least this story is on Hiatus. As much fun as i have had in writing what i have so far, until the time comes that i can get back into the story i must take a break from it and just focus on my other story.**

 **I want to thank each and everyone of you who have followed/fav'd and reviewed this story. I have had such a brilliant reception to this story that it quite frankly makes everything worth while including taking this hiatus i just hope that all of you will be waiting for me to get back to this story when the time is right.**

 **Again thank you to everyone for your support!**

 **Raven**


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